Lyle and Erik
Menendez have more than a friend in comedian Rosie O'Donnell. They have a "big
sister."
O'Donnell is
speaking out about how she's championed the brothers, who are currently locked
behind bars in
The men have
seen a resurgence in their story thanks to documentaries and television series
being made about them, most recently Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and
Erik Menendez Story," which both brothers have condemned.
O'Donnell
says their history is complex.
"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,"
O’Donnell told Variety. "Barbara said, ‘Ignore him, he’s a murderer. He’s
very cunning.’"
In 1996, Walters
famously interviewed both Lyle and Erik in prison.
O'Donnell
admittedly didn't respond, only entering the brothers' lives two years ago
after watching a documentary that included new evidence that supported Lyle and
Erik's story; they'd been molested by their father. O'Donnell spoke out on
social media, and from there, a relationship was born.
"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 explained. "He called me on Mother’s Day last
year."
Since then, O'Donnell
and the brothers have established a friendship of sorts, one that the former
talk show host describes as almost familial.
"I feel
like a big sister in a way. Lyle is one of the most lauded prisoners in the
She met Lyle
for the first time last year, greeting the elder Menendez brother 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."
O'Donnell
said that she 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,’"
referencing her talk show that ended in 2002.
"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."
The brothers
have the potential to be resentenced, or even released, in light of new evidence
being reviewed by George Gascón, the
O'Donnell
said she was privy to the groundbreaking decision before the media.
"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. 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."
"They’re
excited," she continued. "They’re happy. I came in two years ago as a
cheerleader. 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
already has plans set up with Lyle if he is indeed 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
frequented by celebrities. "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.’
