Current:Home > FinanceRosie O'Donnell says she's 'like a big sister' to Menendez brothers Lyle and Erik -WealthSync Hub
Rosie O'Donnell says she's 'like a big sister' to Menendez brothers Lyle and Erik
View
Date:2025-04-12 02:07:57
Rosie O'Donnell says she feels "like a big sister" to the Menendez brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez.
In an interview with Variety published Friday, the former panelist on "The View" opened up about her friendship with Lyle Menendez and how she thinks the brothers will be released from state prison "sooner than later."
"We talk a lot," O’Donnell said in the interview with Variety. "I told them I would do what I could with whatever dwindling fame I have to bring light to their story."
The brothers are serving prison time for killing José Hernandez and Mary Louise "Kitty" Hernandez at the family's Beverly Hills home in 1989.
The Variety interview took place one day after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office would review new evidence of alleged sexual abuse brought forth by the brothers' attorneys.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
The brothers have long maintained that sexual abuse is the motive for their parent's murder.
Rosie O'Donnell says Barbara Walters called Lyle Menendez 'very cunning' and 'a murderer'
The former daytime talk show host first heard from Lyle Menendez 30 years ago, but didn't support the famous older brother because O'Donnell says "View" creator and broadcasting legend Barbara Walters told her to ignore him.
Walters, who died in December 2022, famously interviewed the brothers for ABC.
But then, O'Donnell "came in two years ago as a cheerleader" when the pair reconnected after the comedian watched a documentary that revisited the Menendez case and featured evidence that the brothers were molested by their dad.
“I got a call from Lyle’s wife, I didn’t even know he had a wife, asking if I would talk to him,” O’Donnell told Variety. “He called me on Mother’s Day last year," adding that the brothers are "excited" about a potential release. She also shared that the Menendez brothers are "happy" with calls to be freed, and she spoke to Lyle Menendez on Thursday night.
"I told them then, “You’re going to get out of there.” They didn’t really believe me, but I believe that the wrong will be righted. They’re still reticent to believe it’s going to happen," O'Donnell told the outlet.
Rosie O'Donnell says she has visited Menendez brothers in prison
During the interview, O'Donnell also detailed her visit to meet Lyle Menendez last year Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, the California state prison near San Diego where both brothers are imprisoned.
"I saw Lyle and gave him a hug," the comedian recalled of her visit. "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."
Kim Kardashian: Free Menendez brothersafter brutal 1996 killings of parents
O'Donnell even hinted at being present at the pair's potential release saying she would be there "If they wanted me there, of course, but I don’t want to overshadow things." She told Variety the brothers are "going to need a lot of therapy to figure out how to be in the world after having been in prison for 35 years.
And the former "Rosie O'Donnell Show" host has a gift for Lyle Menendez if the brothers are released from prison: a meal at celebrity hotspot Nobu, which boasts a slew of locations around the country and world.
"I’ve always told Lyle that I will take him to Nobu because he thinks that’s the place to go," O'Donnell told Variety.
She recalled telling Menendez, "'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.'"
Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Rafael dissolves into a low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico after hitting Cuba as a hurricane
- Chiefs block last-second field goal to save unbeaten record, beat Broncos
- LSU leads college football Week 11 Misery Index after College Football Playoff hopes go bust
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
- 2025 NFL Draft order: Updated first round picks after Week 10 games
- Lala Kent Swears by This Virgo-Approved Accessory and Shares Why Stassi Schroeder Inspires Her Fall Style
- Average rate on 30
- California voters reject proposed ban on forced prison labor in any form
Ranking
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Man killed in Tuskegee University shooting in Alabama is identified. 16 others were hurt
- AIT Community Introduce
- One person is dead after a shooting at Tuskegee University
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
- Reds honor Pete Rose with a 14-hour visitation at Great American Ball Park
- Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
Recommendation
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Explains His Stance on His Daughter Gwendlyn Brown’s Sexuality
Quincy Jones laid to rest at private family funeral in Los Angeles
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Brush fire erupts in Brooklyn's iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought
Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Everglades Scientist Accused of Stealing ‘Trade Secrets’
Taylor Swift's Mom Andrea Gives Sweet Nod to Travis Kelce at Chiefs Game