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Louise Thomas
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Comedian Rosie O’Donnell has revealed a surprising link to the Menendez brothers, who she says consider her their “big sister”.
Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty. The siblings have been back in the public eye following the release of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
They were arrested for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder outside their home in March 1990 and sentenced in 1996. In 2024, new evidence emerged that has the potential to set them free, with their case now being considered by the LA District Attorney.
O’Donnell told Variety that she was first contacted by Lyle after he saw her appear on Larry King Live, 30 years ago. At the time, The View host took the opportunity to say she believed the brothers claims that they had been molested by their father.
TV host Barbara Walters, however, warned her against staying in touch with the convicted murderers, claiming that Lyle was “very cunning”.
Yet two years ago O’Donnell found herself once again vouching for the brothers after the release of a documentary, which shed new light on the case.
“I got a call from Lyle’s wife – I didn’t even know he had a wife – asking if I would talk to him,” she said. “He called me on Mother’s Day last year.”
She added that the pair are now regularly in touch.
“We talk a lot,” she continued. “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 Nineties, Lyle. I’m not on that show anymore.’
“I think if you feel strongly about something and you want to try to help society, you can use your voice because the children who are abused in their homes don’t have a voice. It’s up to the adults who were once those children to speak for them.”
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Last year, O’Donnell made the trip to San Diego prison to see the brothers in prison.
“I saw Lyle and gave him 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.”
Beyond a friendship, O’Donnell said that the brothers feel like family to her. “I feel like a big sister in a way. Lyle is one of the most lauded prisoners in the California prison system,” she said. “You can’t ignore that.”
She added that she believes they could be released in the “next 30 days”.
