What is a ‘Flying Monkey’

A flying monkey is a term applied to narcissistic enablers. They are people who have been groomed by the narcissist to act on their behalf, some do it on their own and others are provoked by the narcissist.

What are Narcissist Flying Monkeys?
The narcissist will use other people to manipulate and abuse you to maintain control over you. This abuse strategy is known as “abuse by proxy.”

Narcissist flying monkeys are individuals recruited by narcissists to actively participate in narcissistic manipulation and abuse. The term “flying monkeys” was inspired by the enchanted flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz, who was sent to do the dirty work for the Wicked Witch of the West. The phrase has become used to describe people who do the bidding of a narcissist.

These people are the narcissist’s henchmen, who keep in with the narcissist, getting involved in triangulation, gaslighting, and other narcissist manipulation strategies aimed at smearing the victim of narcissistic abuse.
What Are Narcissist Flying Monkeys And How Can You Defend Yourself From Them? (linkedin.com)

Are You a Narcissist’s Flying Monkey?
Are you caught up in a narcissist’s emotional abuse of others?

Are You a Narcissist’s Flying Monkey? | Psychology Today

Flying monkeys get caught up in a narcissist’s plan — often to damage the life of another person. The narcissist may use their flying monkeys as piggy in the middle, carrying information from party to party. The flying monkey may use gaslighting tactics, open aggression, and guilt-tripping in order to make another person feel bad and weak, whilst shoring up the narcissist. And they’re often involved in pleading the case of the narcissist. Narcissists love having at least one flying monkey, as it makes them feel important and means they can appear to be above the people below them (on both sides) who are caught up in the messy parts of the drama.

Narcissists and Their Flying Monkeys

As if a magical spell has taken over, the bond between the narcissist and their flying monkeys is one of unwavering loyalty even in the face of danger. When the narcissist wants to evoke some punishment on a target they dispatch their henchmen (aka flying monkeys) to do their bidding. Unfortunately, this can and often does include abusive behavior such as guilt-tripping, twisting the truth, gaslighting, assaults, threats, and violence. This keeps them out of harms way and able to claim innocence if caught.

What makes them do this? Ironically, many of them also have a disorder that the narcissist preys upon to meet their own needs. Here are some examples in order of their long-term unwavering commitment.

Narcissists and Their Flying Monkeys (psychcentral.com)