Rosie O’Donnell has detailed her long falling out with Ellen DeGeneres by revealing that she hasn’t accepted her apology recently.
The 61-year-old media personality said The Hollywood Reporter the 65-year-old former chat host reached out a few weeks ago to apologize, but Rosie chose to dismiss the mea culpa.
She explained, “She texted me a few weeks ago to check on how I’m doing, and I asked her how she was surviving without being on TV.”
“It’s a big transition. But we had our quirkiness in our relationship. I don’t know if it was jealousy, competition or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that got me really hurt.
Last year, Rosie first revealed the long-running feud with Ellen on an episode of Watch What Happens Live.
Better days: Rosie O’Donnell has detailed her long falling out with Ellen DeGeneres by revealing she hasn’t accepted his apology recently; the two are seen together in April 2006
Trailblazer: The 61-year-old media personality (pictured in May 2019) told The Hollywood Reporter that the 65-year-old former chat host reached out a few weeks ago to apologize, but Rosie chose to reject the my culpa
Rosie revealed that shortly after Ellen reached out to apologize, telling THR, “She wrote, ‘I’m so sorry, and I don’t remember. I guess she saw me talking about it on the Andy Cohen show.
“I remember it so well, I had T-shirts printed and gave them to my staff that said ‘I don’t know Rosie’. We’re not friends.’
Rosie went on to explain that she was unwilling to let her back into the circle of trust despite a long history together.
She explained; ‘I have a picture of her holding [my then-infant son] Parker. I know his mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room. I had known her for so many years. I just felt like I didn’t trust this person to be in my world.
The drama began when Ellen appeared on Larry King Live in May 1998 shortly after Rosie came out as a lesbian.
Ellen was asked what she thought of the news and she replied, “I don’t know. You know, maybe she didn’t — I don’t know Rosie very well. I mean, I talked to him, but we’re not really friends. We don’t, like – so I don’t really know and I couldn’t tell what she…’
Then in September 2022, Rosie finally opened up about their rivalry.
Rosie went on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen at the time and was asked why she and DeGeneres has such an icy relationship.
She explained, “She texted me a few weeks ago to check on how I’m doing, and I asked her how she was surviving without being on TV.” It’s a big transition. But we had our quirk in our relationship. I don’t know if it was jealousy, competition or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt me’; we see them together in The Rosie O’Donnell Show in the 1990s
Smoking gun: The drama began when Ellen appeared on Larry King Live in May 1998 shortly after Rosie came out as a lesbian; Rosie is seen in Pasadena in February
Although they had a lot in common — the two had successful daytime talk shows, the two comedic women, the two lesbians — the stars never got along.
O’Donnell was more or less persona non grata on The Ellen DeGeneres Show during her long tenure but was eventually asked to appear as a guest on Season 19.
“We had a little weird thing, and after my show went off the air and hers went on air,” Rosie explained to Andy.
“Larry King was with Ellen and he said ‘What happened to Rosie O’Donnell? His show hit the charts! She came out as a lesbian and disappeared!
‘And Ellen said, and I quote, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’
At the time, Rosie was watching the interview at home with his ex-wife Kelli Carpenter.
“I was in bed with Kelli and I said ‘Did I just hear that? Or was it a hallucination, an auditory voice in my –,” she recalled. “And that’s what happened. And it hurt me like a baby. And I never really got over it.
Her side of the story: Rosie went through Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in September 2022 and was asked why she and DeGeneres had such a frosty relationship
“We had a little weird thing, and after my show went off the air and his came on,” Rosie told Andy’; Rosie is seen on The Rosie O’Donnell Show in the 1990s
“Larry King was with Ellen and he said ‘What happened to Rosie O’Donnell? His show hit the charts! She came out as a lesbian and disappeared! And Ellen said, and I quote, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’
“I was in bed with Kelli and I said ‘Did I just hear that? Or was it a hallucination, an auditory voice in my –,” she recalled. “And that’s what happened. And it hurt me like a baby. And I never really got over it.
Talk show legends: The Rosie O’Donnell Show, a once-popular daytime talk show that aired from 1996 to 2002. Ellen’s talk show apparently replaced Rosie in 2003 and ran for 19 seasons until what it ends in a scandal.
Nearly more than a decade later, Rosie was finally invited to appear on Ellen’s show as a guest, she revealed, but to make it a little less awkward”, it was about bringing someone with her.
In the end, this idea did not fly but O‘Donnell doesn’t seem to have a grudge against Ellen.
“I wish her all the good things in her life and that she is well,” she said.
The Rosie O’Donnell Show, a once popular daytime talk show, aired from 1996 to 2002. Ellen’s talk show apparently replaced Rosie in 2003 and ran for 19 seasons until it ended. ends in scandal.
