Rosie O'Donnell Slams Netflix's Monsters, Says 'There's So Much New Evidence' in Menendez Brothers Case

Mar. 15, 2025

Rosie O’Donnell; Lyle and Erik Menendez.Photo:Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty; AP Photo/Nick Ut

Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty; AP Photo/Nick Ut

Rosie O’Donnellis speaking out on the Menendez brothers amid the renewed attention their case is getting.

O’Donnell, who has been a longtime advocate ofLyle and Erik Menendez, spoke toNews Nationafter Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced at a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 3, that he is “keeping an open mind” aboutthe Menendez brothers’bid for release.

O’Donnell told host Chris Cuomo that the brothers are “hesitant to hope after being in prison for 35 years and being abused for his childhood up to that point.”

She added, “These men don’t have a lot of bandwidth to hope for what exactly happened.”

Jose, the head of RCA Records at the time of his murder, was shot multiple times. including point blank in the head. Kitty, 47, suffered 15 gunshot wounds, including one to the face.

Lyle and Erik Menendez.AP Photo/Nick Ut

AP Photo/Nick Ut

However, prosecutors at the time said the two brothers’ motive was greed, citing the lavish spending spree — which involved expensive watches, cars and tennis lessons — they went on after the slayings.

Since then, there have been efforts to overturn their convictions. Most recently, in May 2023, attorneys for the brothers filed a petition with Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing new evidence in the case.

Jose and Kitty Menendez.ABC

ABC

At Thursday’s press conference, Gascón told reporters that his office has “a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us” to decide if the brothers should be resentenced or if a new hearing of the case is “appropriate.” Gascón added, “If there was evidence that was not presented to the court at that time, and had that evidence been presented, perhaps a jury would have come to a different conclusion.”

During her interview, O’Donnell, who last year interviewed Lyle Menendez on herpodcast, said there’s been a big push among young people to free the brothers.

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Recently, O’Donnell in aTikTok videocriticized the Netflix series,Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story, as “wildly inaccurate.”

“It was disappointing is all I can say,” she said. “I don’t know why we needed to make it if we’re just going to continue to blame these children for the abuse they suffered and their reaction to it before their brains were fully formed. Don’t know, but that’s what it feels like to me.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com