It’s no secret that Rosie O’Donnell is not afraid to spill every last drop of pippin’ hot tea.
The outspoken actress, podcaster and newly minted TikTok star has been telling it like it is since relinquishing her “Queen of Nice” moniker upon walking away from her eponymous daytime talk show in 2002.
In the last few years, like many of us, her ire has been focused on the twice indicted, twice impeached, one term ex-president.
Here’s just a sample of what she had to say about him after he was recently indicted for a second time:
@rosie TRUMP INDICTED !!!! oh happy day !!! #karma #hestheHOAX ♬ original sound – Rosie ODonnell
O’Donnell and Trump’s years-long feud began back during her days co-hosting The View, when he called her “a real loser,” “fat,” and “a woman out of control” for criticizing then-Miss USA Tara Conner.
In a new wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, O’Donnell opens about the early days of their clash, who she believes is complicit in enabling Trump’s rise to political prominence, and what lead to all her beef with Ellen DeGeneres.
Feuding with Trump
“[David] Letterman had him on and was laughing, and all the political shows had him on,” she said about Trump badmouthing her in the press back in 2006. “He was even on sports shows talking about it. And it was not just an attack on me but on all women he doesn’t deem worthy, whether they’re in his mind not pretty enough, too tough, not feminine enough, not straight enough, not beautiful enough. “
She added: “And he never turns away from any kind of public feud or spat or his opinion on women. That’s what made me stand up against him.”
O’Donnell said it was Trump’s behavior after Miss Teen USA Tara Conner was spotted kissing a girl in a club that sealed her disgusted opinion of him.
“He held a big press conference right before we went live that day to say that he was going to ‘give her another chance’ and that he ‘believes in chances,’ as if he were the pimp and she was the prostitute who had acted out,” she added. “It infuriated me in every way. I said, ‘This man’s a piece of crap. Here’s the proof.'”
O’Donnell believes the press has been a huge culprit in promoting Trump’s bombastic image and specifically calls out Mark Burnett, who created The Apprentice, for aiding his problematic rise to prominence under false pretenses.
“The mass media was complicit in the formulation of this character that we are calling Donald Trump,” the former talk show host said. “I blame Mark Burnett fully for creating a show that was fiction and selling it as fact. There was no boardroom at Trump Tower. They created a boardroom with fake flats and walls. There was no big organization of Trump running the world. He was not a billionaire.”
All the “Lebanese” drama with Ellen
O’Donnell also reflected on her complicated friendship with fellow lesbian comedian/talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, which initially started on good terms. The pair traveled in similar circles prior to garnering fame and bonded as they both juggled their burgeoning careers while not being out publicly.
“We supported each other. Which is why when she came on my show, I said, ‘Let me not have you standing there by yourself. Let’s get a joke in there,'” O’Donnell told THR. “And we sat down and came up with that, ‘Oh my God, I love Casey Kasem. Maybe I’m Lebanese.’ It became a big thing.”
Watch the classic “Lebanese” clip from 1996 below:
Unfortunately, after making a big splash by coming out in Time magazine in 1997, DeGeneres soon hurt O’Donnell’s feeling by pulling a Mariah-style “I don’t know her.”
“But we’ve had our weirdness in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt my feelings,” O’Donnell recalled of a comment DeGeneres’ made on Larry King Live.
“Larry King said, ‘Whatever happened to Rosie O’Donnell’s show? She went down the tubes as soon as she came out.’ And the quote that Ellen said was, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’ I was watching TV in bed with my wife going, ‘Did she just say that?'”
But O’Donnell has the receipts.
She continued: “I have a picture of her holding [my then-infant son] Parker. I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room. I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world.”
Their beef went on for years as DeGeneres initially refused to have O’Donnell on her hit talk show. And later, when producers wanted to have the former The View co-host on, O’Donnell was the one who would say no.
The pair are seemingly on better terms now as O’Donnell revealed DeGeneres recently sent her an apology after hearing her discuss the entire fracas on Andy Cohen‘s radio show. DeGeneres allegedly texted, “I’m really sorry and I don’t remember that.”
Guess that’s better than nothing.
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Rosie O’Donnell just spilled a whole pot of tea about her time on ‘The View’ and… damn
“I finished the show, got my coat, walked out, and said I’m not going back, and I didn’t.”
FreddieW
I really miss Ellen DeGeneres. And I really get tired of reading snark and sniping about her.
FreddieW
And it got Rosie on CNN. I really haven’t thought about her in years, until I read here all the articles about her social media activity.
cuteguy
Ellen sucks
PubisHairus
Actually, I think she licks.
ShaverC
I think Rosie is in a cult, not the people who disagree with her.
dbmcvey
You shill for anti-gay Republican politicians.
Cam
You were over in the other article victim blaming.
PubisHairus
Remember this when hearing or reading ANYTHING a conservative/Republican/MAGA Cult Member says about another:
Every. accusation. is. a. confession.
winemaker
Some people like loudmouth, rude and obnoxious rosie o’donnel have nothing better to do with their time than harp and rant on Donald trump who’s been gone for almost 3 years and is no longer relevant. The thing is he was a legally elected president despite what the liberals say and likely could have done some good things for the country and the middle class if the liberals didn’t act like big crybabies throwing temper tantrums just ’cause their party lost the election big time. The American people decided to go in another direction and rejected clinton. Time for these liberal crybabies to deal with this and move on, the people are tired of the bickering all while nothing gets done. And just look at the clowns we’re dealng with now, have been dealing with for last 2 years running this great country like a 3 ring circus sans laughter. at least until next year when hopefully common sense will prevail. Donald Trump might have been abrupt but told things as thjey really were and called a piece of horse shit a road apple and not German Chocolate cake. I’m gay and disappointed in what’s going on in DC now and didn’t vote for this and neither did millions of other Americans, be they republican aka conservative or liberal or independent. I along with millions of others nfortunately have to deal with this dincompetent dog and pony show until next years presidential election and then by the grace of God this nightmate will be over as 4 more years of this will turn the USA into the Venezuela of the northern western hemisphere.
trell
George Santos attempts to infiltrate Queerty – It ends badly.
griffin87
@trell Nearly spat out my beer with your comment about whine-maker. Genius lol
Cam
Same old right wing troll defending Republican bigots.
Sweetie, your trolling is still sad and weak.
Kangol2
Maybe in your bubble in SF (or wherever you are in California), “Donald trump [has been]…gone for almost 3 years and is no longer relevant,” but FOR THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES and the globe, Donald the Con is the leading GOP candidate in the 2024 US Presidential election. It’s noteworthy to hear that you are so above it all and untouched by reality that you don’t see his regular presence on TV or the net, or hear him on the radio, and clearly don’t have to worry about his possible return to the White House, but the rest of us sure do! So when you do wake up or leave your bubble, maybe you’ll realize how “relevant,” unfortunately, that psychopathic, lying, treasonous, convicted, twice-impeached, assaulter is!
Diplomat
Trump is a serial liar, a convicted sexual predator, a convicted con in the Trump university scam, twice impeached criminally indicted autocratic shit bag: and that’s the short list. Why would you vote for him? Do tell: what is your definition of common sense there wine?
PubisHairus
Go glug another bottle and shove it up your arse, winemaker. You have revealed through all of your drunken and belligerent posts to be an unbearably intolerant, intellectually inert, and totally miserable person.
frapachino
@ diplomat for a sec I thought you were talkin bout Clinton.
eightinchnail
Cant stand Ellen. Comes across as fake when in fact she is an absolute b.
inbama
Wow.
I haven’t heard this much anti-lesbian hatred since the AGPs shut down Michfest.
dbmcvey
Where are you hearing this?
Mister P
Whine maker is full of it on so many levels.
jp47
Rosie is problematic on a number of levels, but Ellen is in a whole other place as a cold-hearted, two-faced lizard person (though not related to the British royal family). Back when Ellen was the darling of daytime talk shows I felt she was extremely disingenuous. Her obvious glee when she would frighten guests or have them demeaned in some way always struck me as mean and unnecessary. Come to find out she was even worse.
Jimmynj
Rosie O’Donnell is just not a nice person. Like when she had Kim Zimmer from Guiding Light. Zimmer and Lucci were up for Outstanding Lead Actress. Rosie said to Kim that she hopes Lucci wins (she didn’t). And when she was having Tom Cruise on for the first time. Every other guest that was told “You know, Tom Cruise is going to be on this week. That’s like saying to some, “Thanks for coming to dinner this week. Someone is coming next week who I like better.
winemaker
sadly from reading the comments that if you don’t follow the gay political agenda you’re raked over the coals. This is America where we hopefully cnn disagree without being disagreeable and obnoxious. Really why can;’ peopel have differing opinions without incurroing nasty comments if they differ from your opinion? BTW: I call myself winemaker because i’m a successful award winning gay vintner here in Califronia. I’d clue you in to my winery but from your comments you’ve probably never enjoyed my wines but it’s one of the best boutique wineries in Sonoma County. Not all of us love rosie o’donnel or ellen. Their rant and feud about Trump has gotten old. He’s been gone for almost 4 years, time to let this go, move on and focus on what’s going on now. Not all of us voted for the current politicos yet have to deal with the repercussions of those that did and now look where we are. If you like an open border, inflation higher than it’s been on 80 years, food shortages and higher food prices along with gasoline prices, have at it. The rest of us want a united country and a strong economy and are tired of the liberal progressives hell bent on driving this country into the ground and California is a perfect example of this