1 week Ago By Tatiana Krisztina, Niamh Spence
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell has opened up about her unlikely friendship with Lyle Menendez , a convicted killer who has been behind bars since 1996 for murdering his parents alongside his brother, Erik . O'Donnell has previously defended the Menendez brothers, stating she believes they acted in self-defense. Lyle reportedly reached out to thank her for her support, sparking a friendship.
O'Donnell shared, "He started calling me on a regular basis from the tablet phone thing they have." In an interview with the New York Times, she added: "He would tell me about his life, what he's been doing in prison and, for the first time in my life, I felt safe enough to trust and be vulnerable and love a straight man." O'Donnell also revealed that Lyle sent her a letter in 1996 after she spoke out in support of him and his brother on Larry King Live, but she didn't respond at the time, citing unresolved personal issues.
In 2022, after viewing a documentary about the brothers, O'Donnell reached out to Lyle through his wife, Rebecca Sneed. This led to a three-hour phone conversation between Lyle and O'Donnell, sparking a relationship that even saw O'Donnell visiting Lyle in prison, reports the Irish Star . Just days ago, O'Donnell revealed she had left Donald Trump's America with her 12-year-old son Clay, relocating to Ireland.
The host of The View reportedly left the rest of her family behind to escape Trump's policies. This included her daughter Chelsea, who has now allegedly been removed from her will. Clay, at just 12 years old, is the youngest of O'Donnell's five adopted children.
She also has Parker, 29, Blake, 25, and daughters Chelsea, 27, Vivienne, 22. After discussing the health benefits of moving from the US to Ireland, it was reported that the 63-year-old host of The View cut her daughter out of her alleged $80,000,000 estate before leaving. Documents obtained by the Daily Mail suggest that O'Donnell removed Chelsea from two separate trusts on January 6, just days before she left the country in protest of Trump's re-election.
Chelsea has since filed a petition to change her name to that of her birth mother, according to reports. When asked for comment, O'Donnell's representative directed the outlet to a 30-stanza Substack poem the comedian wrote about her daughter on April 6 – simply titled 'my child chelsea', written without capital letters. She further stated that they would not be providing any additional comments.
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