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Comedian Conan O’Brien has spoken about having his name “dragged” into the tragedy surrounding the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner.
Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead at their Brentwood, Los Angeles mansion on December 14, the morning after they attended O’Brien’s Christmasparty.
Their son, Nick Reiner, who attended the gathering with his parents, is now accused of their murders.
“Very simply, we had a party, we invited our really good friends and then, the next day, this terrible thing happened”, O’Brien, 62, told the Hollywood Reporter.
The comedian said “the scale of the tragedy for the family and the loss of Rob and Michele”, outweighed any criticism he and his wife had faced for having their names linked to the case.
“They weren’t just our parents, they were our best friends”, siblings Romy and Jake Reiner wrote in a statement at the time.
“We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
In an earlier interview with the New Yorker, O’Brien discussed the bond he and his wife shared with the Reiners.
“To have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone. … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward," he said.
“To have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend.”