In a shocking scene from Ryan Murphy’s Monsters, Lyle Menendez has his wig ripped off by his mother Kitty, a moment based on Lyle’s testimony in court.
When the brothers went on trial for the murders of their parents on August 20, 1989, Lyle’s hair became a constant reference point for the media.
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Lyle’s wig was reportedly worth more than $1,000.
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Lyle (left) and his brother Eric (right) were sentenced to life in prison.
In the show, Kitty’s revelation prompts Lyle to confide in his brother Eric about his father’s abuse, starting a chain of events that leads to the murder of his parents.
Here’s everything you need to know about Lyle’s hair.
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Lyle started losing hair at an early age, and experts say it may be due to anxiety.
The two brothers had a difficult relationship with their father, with Lyle’s younger brother Eric claiming that their father sexually abused them.
Read more about the Menendez brothers
Jose, who is said to be the source of Lyle’s anxiety, is said to have criticized his son’s premature hair loss and ordered him to wear a wig.
Lyle reportedly purchased the wig from a Los Angeles hair replacement center in 1988 for $1,450.
‘Sex beast father held a knife to our throats’ Mendendes brothers defend $700,000 splurge and reveal biggest regret after murdering parents
The brothers said in court testimony that five days before Jose and Kitty’s murders, during a family dinner, Lyle announced his intention to marry Jamie Lee Pisarcik.
When his parents objected, he claimed that they had married young, which is said to have led to his mother standing up and ripping off his wig.
Lyle said in court testimony that Eric “didn’t know I was wearing a hairpiece. I was really embarrassed in front of my brother.”
Eric said this was the moment he opened up to his brother about Jose’s alleged abuse.
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Lyle is played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters.
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The moment Kitty rips off Lyle’s wig was dramatized in Ryan Murphy’s controversial Netflix series Monster.
Nicholas Alexander Chavez, the actor who plays Lyle, told Deadline that he thought Lyle’s wig was “some kind of mask.”
He continued: “It’s not something he puts on himself.
“That was imposed by his father and the standards of perfection that Lyle had to live up to.
“It’s a mask that hides the deep, deeply scarred inner child that comes to the surface in episode four.”
The production and costume teams used Nicholas’ real hair in most scenes during the show.
He said: “They used my real hair for almost the entire film, but they teased it and styled it to look like a wig.
“The only time it’s not my real hair is if I have a gag.
“So when the wig comes off, like the dinner table scene or the scene where they get snatched in the prison shower, they put on a bald cap.”
The Mendendes brothers and their family were critical of the series.
But renewed interest in the brothers’ case has led to increased support for them from the general public and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian.
