Erik Menendez of The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was never a Calvin Klein model. There is no factual basis for the claim that Erik was involved with the fashion brand.
This claim could have stemmed from a photograph taken of him that Dominick Dunne, a prominent journalist, found fascinating. He told his guests at his country house that Erik “could be a Calvin Klein model,” which may have led some people to believe it. However, it was just a figure of speech and not a factual claim.
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The source of this article is Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne: A Life in Several Acts by Robert Hofler.
The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
It was in 1993 that Erik and Lyle Menendez became infamous when they were put on trial for the brutal murder of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. Their story intrigued people not just because of the crime’s nature, but also because of the family’s wealth, privilege, and their ties to the movie industry.
The fateful night of August 20, 1989, was when the Menendez brothers shot their parents while they were watching “The Spy Who Loved Me”. The crime soon made headlines as it shocked the entire nation.
The trial was already quite scandalous and to top it off, the defense reportedly had claimed that the brothers had been sexually abused by their father, Jose Menendez. They argued that this was the reason why they killed their parents.
For Lyle Menendez, September 11, 1993, was his first day on the stand. When questioned by defense attorney Jill Lansing about his motive for the murders. Lyle had said, his eyes welling up with tears:
“Because we were afraid. He raped me.”
Reportedly, Lyle had said that he was six years old when his father, Jose Menendez, first raped him and told him that it was a sort of ritual performed to bond. However, that was not all that took everyone aback.
He shared that he took his younger brother, who was also raped by their father, to the woods so he could inflict the same damage to him. Saying this, he apologized to his brother, Erik, in the courtroom.
The photographs of Erik Menendez
The homoerotic pictures of Erik Menandez of The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story had surfaced and Dominick Dunne, the investigative journalist and writer, was covering the trial. Erik had reportedly claimed in his testimony that he was forced by his father to strike a naked pose in front of a mirror for a more dramatic effect.
Dunne had reasons to believe that Erik was the one who came up with that idea. Through his investigation, he had found out one of the many factlets to be true. It was Erik’s photograph sessions taken by Philip Kearney.
Dunne was fascinated by Erik. Reportedly, he had copies of Erik’s shirtless photos made and would, on occasions, show it to people and say:
“He could be a Calvin Klein model.”
Dunne’s fascination also reflected in his letter to Erik in 2001. The purpose of the letter was to obtain a face-to-face interview in prison with him. However, by then, he had read the unproduced screenplays written by the younger Menendez brother, who had shared one of those with Kearney.
According to the photographer, Erik told him that it was about a set of parents who are murdered by their teenage child in order to keep the insurance money. Dunne, in his letter, went on to appreciate Erik’s writing skills by writing,
“How often you come to my mind…”
Hence, Erik Menandez of The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was not a Calvin Klein model. The statement made by Dominick Dunne was just a figure of speech that reflected his fascination towards Erik.
The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a twisted tale of alleged sexual abuse and subject fascination that paints a shocking picture of the complex dynamics of trauma and manipulation.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story can be streamed on Netflix.
Stay tuned to Soap Central for more updates and detailed coverage.
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