Rosie O’Donnell has shared her side of the story regarding her former feud with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, which came to a head live on air when the pair co-hosted ABC’s The View.
Appearing on the Australian radio show Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel, O’Donnell was asked about her on-air battles with Hasselbeck, which she referred to as a “setup” by The View producers.
The multi-time Daytime Emmy winner said she went out of her way to help Hasselbeck at the time, noting, “When I took that job, I made one commitment to myself: that I was not going to be her enemy, that I was going to meet her as a person.”
O’Donnell stated that Hasselbeck “came to my house, she swam in my pool, she brought her little kid. I took her kid to Sesame Street Live. I took her to her first Broadway opening. I bent over backwards for this woman.”
“And here she was coming at me on national TV about whether or not I was patriotic. It felt to me like I was on a basketball team of five women, and one of them kept tripping me on my way to the hoop,” she added.
The heated arguments between the left-leaning O’Donnell and the conservative Hasselbeck became a significant part of the show when both were hosting between 2006 and 2007. O’Donnell recalled how the producers would cut to a split-screen, which only intensified the drama.
“I looked up, and you know, our producer is not an on-the-fly kind of guy. He wasn’t like, ‘Mr. Let’s-go-to-a-split-screen.’ That was prepared. So the whole thing, I think, was a setup,” the A League of Their Own star stated.
Things broke down completely in one episode when O’Donnell and Hasselbeck went back and forth on the Iraq War. The explosive debate ultimately ended with O’Donnell requesting to be released from her contract early.
After the Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel show posted a clip of O’Donnell’s comments on TikTok, fans jumped into the comment section to share their thoughts.
“The older I get…the more I love and respect Rosie O’Donnell!” wrote one commenter.
“Elizabeth Hasselbeck couldn’t think for herself a way out of a wet paper bag. she is definitely a mouthpiece,” said another.
Another added, “Elisabeth was fortunate to get the job. Unknown and no talent. Hired only because she spoke conservative views.”
“Elizabeth was such a bully to Rosie, it broke my heart,” said one fan.
However, another added, “Loved Elizabeth hasselbeck.”
“I was huge fan of Elizabeth from survivor! Her treatment of Rosie ended that! Couldn’t stand her since!” said another.
Hasselbeck rose to fame when she appeared on the second season of Survivor, The Australian Outback, which remains the reality competition show’s most-watched season ever. Earlier this year, speculation spread that Hasselbeck would be returning to Survivor for its upcoming 50th season; however, she later shot down the rumors.
“No, I’m not doing Survivor. That is funny though. I’m not doing that. I’m gonna be back there with, like, snacks instead,” she said in an Instagram video. “I’ll be gardening … and working on some fun projects which I’ll tell you about, but it does not include Fiji or Survivor. I’m not doing that.”
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