Rosie O’Donnell has described her long-standing feud with Ellen DeGeneres when she revealed she didn’t accept her apology recently.
That is what the 61-year-old media personality said The Hollywood Reporter the 65-year-old former talk show host had reached out a few weeks ago to say sorry, but Rosie had chosen to dismiss the mea culpa.
She explained, “She texted me a few weeks ago to check in, to see how I’m doing, and I asked her how she’s surviving when she’s not on TV.
“It’s a big transition. But we’ve had our weirdos in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition, or the fact that she once said something mean about me that really hurt me.’
Last year, Rosie first revealed the long-standing feud with Ellen on an episode of Watch What Happens Live.
Better days: Rosie O’Donnell has described her longstanding feud with Ellen DeGeneres when she revealed she didn’t accept her 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 show host reached out a few weeks ago to say sorry, but Rosie had opted out of the mea culpa to point
Rosie revealed that Ellen reached out sometime after to apologize as she explained to THR, “She wrote, ‘I’m really sorry, and I don’t remember.’ I think she saw me talking about it on Andy Cohen’s show.
“I remembered it so well, I had T-shirts printed and I gave them to my staff that said, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’
Rosie went on to explain that she is not willing to let her back into the circle of trust, despite the two’s long history together.
She explained; “I have a picture of her holding it [my then-infant son] parker. I know her mother. I was able to identify her brother without her in the room. I had known her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person in my world.”
The drama all started when Ellen appeared on Larry King Live in May 1998, shortly after Rosie came out as a lesbian.
Ellen was asked what her thoughts were on 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 her, but we’re not really friends. We don’t know, like — so I don’t really know and I couldn’t say what her…”
Then in September 2022, Rosie finally opened up about their rivalry.
Rosie stopped by Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen at the time and was asked why she and DeGeneres have such a frosty relationship.
She explained, “She texted me a few weeks ago to check in, to see how I’m doing, and I asked her how she’s surviving when she’s not on TV. It’s a big transition. But we’ve had our weirdos in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition, or the fact that she once said something mean about me that really hurt me’; they can be seen together on The Rosie O’Donnell Show in the 1990s
Smoking gun: The drama all started 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
Despite having a lot in common—both had successful daytime talk shows, both female comics, both lesbians—the stars never got along.
O’Donnell was more or less persona non grata on The Ellen DeGeneres Show during his long tenure, but was eventually asked to appear as a guest on Season 19.
“We had this weird thing, and after my show went off the air and hers came on,” Rosie explained to Andy.
Larry King was on Ellen and he said, “What ever happened to Rosie O’Donnell?” Her show went through the tubes! 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 with her ex-wife Kelli Carpenter at home.
“I was in bed with Kelli and I said, ‘Did I just hear that? Or was that a hallucination, an auditory voice in my -” she recalled. ‘And that’s what happened. never really got over it.”
Her side of the story: Rosie stopped by Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in September 2022 and was asked why she and DeGeneres have such a frosty relationship
“We had this weird thing, and after my show went off the air and hers came on,” Rosie explained to Andy “; Rosie can be seen on The Rosie O’Donnell Show in the 1990s
Larry King was on Ellen and he said, “What ever happened to Rosie O’Donnell?” Her show went through the tubes! 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 that a hallucination, an auditory voice in my -” she recalled. ‘And that’s what happened. never really got over it.”
Talk show legends: The Rosie O’Donnell Show, a once very popular daytime chat series, aired from 1996 to 2002. Ellen’s talk show seemingly replaced Rosie in 2003 and ran for 19 seasons until ending in scandal
Almost more than a decade later, Rosie was finally asked to guest on Ellen’s show, she revealed, but to a little less clumsy’ there was talk of taking someone along.
In the end, that idea didn’t fly but O“Donnell doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will toward 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 very popular daytime chat show, aired from 1996 to 2002. Ellen’s talk show seemingly replaced Rosie in 2003 and ran for 19 seasons until ending in scandal.