Rosie O’Donnell has been supporting Erik and Lyle Menendez even before Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters” came out.
The comedian, 62, went on “Larry King Live!” 30 years ago and said she believed the Menendez brothers’ claims that they were molested by their father, Jose Menendez. The siblings murdered Jose and their mom, Kitty Menendez, in 1989 and were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 — which is all explored in the massively popular new Netflix show.
In a new interview with Variety, O’Donnell said she got a letter from Lyle, now 56, after going on Larry King’s show — but her future “The View” co-host, Barbara Walters, warned her about supporting the siblings at the time.
“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 recalled.
“Barbara said, ‘Ignore him, he’s a murderer. He’s very cunning,’ ” O’Donnell added.
Walters, who died in 2022 at age 93, previously interviewed Lyle and Erik, now 53, for “20/20” after they were found guilty of first-degree murder.
O’Donnell listened to Walters’ advice until 2022 when the Max documentary “Menendez: Monsters or Misjudged” came out and prompted O’Donnell to publicly express her support for the brothers.
She told Variety that Lyle’s wife, Rebecca Sneed, contacted her and arranged a phone call between O’Donnell and Lyle on Mother’s Day 2023.
“We talk a lot,” O’Donnell said of herself and Lyle, who, along with his brother, is being held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego, Calif.
“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.’ 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,” she explained.
O’Donnell also revealed that she visited Erik and Lyle in prison last year.
“I saw Lyle and gave him a hug,” she recalled, adding, “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.”
The “A League of Their Own” actress said she’s become “a big sister” to the brothers and supports their release from prison.
Following the success of “Monsters,” District Attorney George Gascon announced that new evidence of sexual abuse against Lyle and Erik is being reviewed. A new court hearing has been set for late November, which could lead to the brothers being re-tried or even released from prison.
“I was beyond excited,” O’Donnell said about the latest developments in the case. “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.”
When asked how the brothers are doing, O’Donnell replied, “They’re excited. 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’re still reticent to believe it’s going to happen.”
O’Donnell also said that Murphy, 58, has helped Lyle and Erik possibly get out of prison with “Monsters,” which has been publicly slammed by the brothers for its alleged inaccuracies.
“Ryan did them a service by doing them a disserve,” she told Variety. “Ryan is a talented filmmaker with his own style and stamp. I just don’t know that this situation, this true-life story, necessarily played into his wheelhouse.”
O’Donnell added, “I think everyone who brought attention to it should be commended, including ‘Monsters.’ I’m glad that it happened.”
