Rosie O’Donnell has made a career out of shamelessly speaking her mind, and in a new interview, the comedian candidly breaks down the incident that triggered a falling out between her and Ellen DeGeneres.
When the two were first coming up together on the comedy scene, they had “a good relationship,” O’Donnell told The Hollywood Reporter. “We were friends. We supported each other.”
O’Donnell recalled DeGeneres’ memorable appearance on her talk show in 1996, where the two cracked jokes about how they might be “Lebanese” because they’re both fans of Casey Kasem. She also fondly remembered going to Hollywood parties with DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, and k.d. lang.
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The rift between them, however, came after DeGeneres appeared 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,’” O’Donnell told THR. “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?’”
In recent years, DeGeneres’ reputation has come under fire as she’s faced allegations of cruel behavior and behind-the-scenes toxicity at the now-defunct Ellen DeGeneres Show. When asked if the negative press surrounding her ex-friend surprised her, O’Donnell deflected somewhat.
“It would never occur to me to say ‘I don’t know her’ about somebody whose babies I held when they were born. It wouldn’t be in my lexicon of choices to ever say,” O’Donnell said. “When she was in a perplexing situation and people were saying things about her, I said, ‘Let me stand next to you and say that I’m Lebanese, too.’ When it was a downward media time for me, she didn’t do anything.”
O’Donnell also told The Hollywood Reporter that when she once asked to go on Ellen to promote a project, Degeneres “said no.” She added that DeGeneres recently texted her to apologize for the Larry King Live remarks—apparently after hearing O’Donnell tell the story on Watch What Happens Live—but it appears the damage has already been done.
“I know her mother,” O’Donnell said. “I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world.”
