The comedian Rosie O’Donnell is speaking out this week to say that she feels like the “big sister” of Lyle and Erik Menendez, infamous for murdering their parents in 1989 and the trial that followed.
Rosie Gushes Over Menendez Brothers
Lyle and Erik are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez. Last month, their story was told in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix hit Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The show has brought a resurgence of interest in the brothers and their case.
“I was out to lunch with Barbara Walters and our publicist Cindy Berger, and I said, ‘Barbara, you’re not going to believe this, but guess who wrote to me – Lyle Menendez,” Rosie told Variety. “Barbara said, ‘Ignore him, he’s a murderer. He’s very cunning.’”
Barbara interviewed the Menendez brothers in prison back in 1996. Though Rosie admitted that she didn’t respond at the time, she entered their lives two years ago.
“I got a call from Lyle’s wife – I didn’t even know he had a wife – asking if I would talk to him,” Rosie explained. “He called me on Mother’s Day last year.”
Rosie Feels Like Lyle And Erik’s ‘Big Sister’
Since then, Rosie has become friends with both Lyle and Erik. She even tried to make the case for defending Lyle.
“I feel like a big sister in a way,” she gushed. “Lyle is one of the most lauded prisoners in the California prison system. You can’t ignore that. If he was sort of the psycho who was screaming at everyone and a maniac, would he have done hospice for the dying prisoners?”
“Would he have done all of the things that he did that allowed him to finally get moved from San Francisco down to his brother because he had 10 years straight without one infraction?” she continued. “Nobody can mask their mental illness that much in 35 years. To be the extraordinary inmates that they both are is pretty damning testimony as well.”
Rosie and Lyle met last year, and she greeted him with a hug.
“Then Erik came over to me, hugged me, and whispered in my ear, ‘Thank you for loving my brother.’ It was very, very moving to me,” she confessed.
These days, Rosie and Lyle “talk a lot.”
“I told them I would do what I could with whatever dwindling fame I have to bring light to their story. I said, ‘It’s not the 90s, Lyle. I’m not on that show anymore,’” she stated, referring to her talk show that ended back in 2002.
Related: Rosie O’Donnell Slams Whoopi Goldberg – Claims She Refused To Discuss Bill Cosby On ‘The View’
New Evidence In Menendez Case
George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, announced last week that new evidence is being reviewed in the Menendez brothers’ case. This could lead to them being resentenced or released. Rosie was told of this before the media was even made aware.
“As soon as the news dropped, I sent them a text and said, ‘It’s really happening. Now, put that smile on your face. Here we go.’ This is what they’ve been waiting for for so many decades, and it’s about time,” she said. “I think that we, as a society, it’s time that we said, ‘We made a mistake, and we didn’t understand what we understand today.’ It’s kind of a miracle, but so deserving. I’m so thrilled for them.”
Rosie already has big plans for Lyle if he is released.
“I’ve always told Lyle that I will take him to Nobu because he thinks that’s the place to go,” she said of the luxury-chain Japanese-Peruvian restaurant that celebrities frequently go to. “Sometimes, I would talk to him at night, and I’d say that my friends and I went to Nobu for lunch. I’d say, ‘Buddy, when you get out, I’ll take you to Nobu.’ When I talked to him the other day, he said, ‘When are we going to Nobu?’ I said, ‘Sooner than you think.’”
Related: Rosie O’Donnell Admits She ‘Clashed’ With Whoopi Goldberg On ‘The View’
The Menendez Murders
The Menendez story is a strange one. Erik and Lyle reportedly bought shotguns with cash back in 1989. They then walked into their Beverly Hills mansion and opened fire on their parents while they watched a movie.
Police initially thought the murders were mafia hits, based on how brutal they were. Erik confessed to the killings to his therapist in March of 1990, and he and his brother were subsequently arrested. Prosecutors claimed that Lyle and Erik committed the murders to gain access to their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
Lyle and Erik’s first trial ended with hung juries. They were then convicted in 1996, and each sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
It remains to be seen if Rosie will get her way, and Lyle and Erik will ever be set free.
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