Did the Menendez brothers play Milli Vanilli at their parents' funeral? The true story behind the Monsters scene

15 October 2024, 17:45

By Sam Prance

Here's how Milli Vanilli's 'Girl I'm Gonna Miss You' played an actual role in Lyle and Erik Menendez's lives.

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In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the Menendez brothers play Milli Vanilli's 'Girl I'm Gonna Miss You' at their parents' funeral. Did that really happen though? Here's the truth behind the Menendez brothers and Milli Vanilli.

Based on the true story of the Menendez brothers killing their parents and the legal process that followed, Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has left viewers wondering what's real and what's been fictionalised. While many of the scenes are inspired by actual events, the show has also been accused of making things up.

In the first episode of Monsters, Milli Vanilli play a significant role and their music has since had a huge spike in streaming. Now, people want to know if Milli Vanilli actually had anything to do with the Menendez brothers.

Read more: Erik Menendez actor Cooper Koch did not use a prosthetic in Monsters shower scene

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story trailer

Episode 1 of 'Monsters' is named 'Blame It on the Rain' after Milli Vanilli's 1989 single of the same name. The episode opens with Lyle and Erik travelling to their parents' funeral as they listen to 'Girl You Know It's True' by Milli Vanilli. As the song plays, Lyle says: "I f---ing love these guys." and suggests that he and Erik should go see them together.

At the funeral, Erik and Lyle then both deliver emotional speeches. Lyle also dedicates Milli Vanilli's 'Girl I'm Gonna Miss You' to his mother Kitty Menendez as a slideshow of photos of his parents appears on a screen behind him. When the episode ends, Milli Vanilli's 'Blame It On the Rain' plays over the credits.

Whether or not these specific moments actually happened as they're depicted is unclear, but author Robert Rand, who wrote a Menendez brothers biography, has said that several Milli Vanilli songs were played at José and Kitty Menendez's funeral including 'Girl I'm Gonna Miss You'.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, creator Ryan Murphy said: "The choice of Lyle playing a Milli Vanilli song at his parents’ memorial – you really can’t make up.”

Milli Vanilli had no personal connection to Ryan and Erik Menendez.

What happened to Milli Vanilli? What was their scandal?

Milli Vanilli were the subjects of controversy in the 90s but their scandal had nothing to do with murder. The duo were a huge commercial success. Their debut album sold over six million copies in the US and spawned three Number 1 singles. They also won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990.

However, they later became the first act to ever have their Best New Artist Grammy revoked after people learned that Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus didn't actually sing their songs. They were simply faces for music recorded by session singers and they lip-synced during all of their performances.

Fab and Rob later revealed that they wanted to sing but their label wouldn't give them any artistic control and they were screwed over by contracts. They later released an album under the name Rob & Fab but it didn't chart.

Rob died after an accidental overdose in 1998. Fab now lives outside of the spotlight in Amsterdam.