Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story examines multiple factors that contributed to Jose and Kitty’s deaths, but the big catalyst is Lyle Menendez’s real-life hair loss, which has hidden implications for his childhood. The true story of Lyle and Erik Menendez killing their parents, Jose and Kitty, is tragic, no matter the angle. For viewers who believe the brothers, they experienced harrowing physical, mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of both parents – though Monsters season 2 barely broaches the allegations against Kitty. Those who don’t believe the brothers see the situation as an unfathomable murder.

From the start to the end of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the Netflix show explores why the Menendez brothers could’ve committed murder, taking a noncommittal stance that’s as exploitative as it is undecided. Like the first season, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was torn apart by audiences and the individuals involved. Erik Menendez slammed Monsters season 2 for being “naive and inaccurate,” which is a fair criticism. However, the Netflix series does keep some details from the true story, such as Lyle Menendez’s hair loss – an important detail in the actual events and the show.

Lyle Menendez Started To Lose His Hair At 16 In Real Life

Lyle Wore A Toupee in Real Life

While he never went completely bald, Lyle Menendez started losing his hair as a teenager before starting at Princeton University. His hair thinned to the point that his father decided he needed a hairpiece. To get fitted for it, Lyle needed to shave the crown of his head, which is likely why why he is partly bald when Kitty Menendez yanks off the toupee in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

One detail that Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story leaves out is that Lyle wasn’t allowed to keep his toupee in jail; he was only allowed to wear it in court.

Among people who believe the Menendez brothers’ story, most think that Lyle lost his hair due to the stress of long-term abuse. While the alleged sexual abuse ended when he was younger, Lyle continued to experience verbal and physical abuse that could have triggered hair loss. Science supports this theory about Lyle’s hair loss. According to Alopecia UK, multiple studies have validated the link between stress and alopecia areata (a type of hair loss). The organization states:

“For some people, there is a very clear link between stress and AA. People with AA can sometimes point to a severe shock or a very stressful event that occurred in the weeks before AA developed. Others report experiencing chronic stress over a long period of time before their AA developed.”

Based on this statement, it’s certainly possible that the hair loss didn’t manifest in Lyle until 16, despite the abuse starting a decade earlier. Additionally, a study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology (via PubMed) found that people with alopecia areata experienced more childhood or lifetime trauma than those without alopecia areata. While confounding factors could be involved in the results, these findings further support the possibility that trauma caused Lyle’s hair loss in both Monsters season 2 and real life.

Did Monsters’ Toupee Scene Really Happen To Lyle Menendez?

Lyle And Erik Menendez Confirmed That Kitty Snatched His Toupee Off His Head

 

In the first episode of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez, a stressful scene occurs where Lyle is being verbally degraded at the dinner table when his mother yanks his toupee off his head. This creates deep shame within the older Menendez brother, especially since Erik didn’t know that his brother wore a wig.

Fearing for their lives and seeing no other way out, Erik and Lyle plotted to murder their parents and followed through on it just five days later.

While this moment in the show seems too cruel to be real, it’s based on an actual incident that both Lyle and Erik Menendez described at separate times. Lyle Menendez testified about this moment on the stand during his first trial. According to the Los Angeles Times, the jury for Lyle Menendez (the two brothers had separate juries in the first trial) actually requested to hear this section of the trial again on the 10th day of deliberations, indicating that it might have been an important piece of testimony.

Erik described this incident in the 2017 documentary The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All, stating the following:

“Mom was screaming and they were in an argument…And mom, in a rage, said, you know, ‘You don’t need your effing hairpiece.’” And [she] reached up, and she ripped his hair off his head. And I remember just being stunned by what happened.”

Whether it was her goal or not, Kitty’s actions in both Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’s version of the story and the descriptions provided by the brothers induced a feeling of humiliation and shame in Lyle that had dire consequences.

How Lyle’s Shaming Led To The Menendez Brothers Killing Their Parents

Erik Felt Comfortable Confiding In Lyle After The Incident

Though it wasn’t the primary factor, the toupee incident contributed to Lyle and Erik killing their parents. When speaking about the aftermath of the incident in the documentary, Erik made it clear how integral this moment was to them killing their parents. Erik said of that moment, “I just told him, you know, not to worry about it – that he was my brother, that I loved him.” After comforting Lyle and telling him that he wasn’t judging, Erik felt safe to tell his brother about the severe sexual abuse he faced at the hands of his father from around six years old up to the present day at that time.

In turn, Lyle opened up to Erik about his own molestation by the same alleged perpetrator. In the documentary, Erik said, “That conversation changed our lives.” Fearing for their lives and seeing no other way out, Erik and Lyle plotted to murder their parents and followed through on it just five days later, as accurately shown in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.