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2d ago

Rosie O’Donnell Revisits Ellen DeGeneres Rift, Says 2004 On-Air Remark Still Stings

O’Donnell’s new podcast interview frames the decades-long fallout as a betrayal of earlier solidarity and makes clear the relationship remains unresolved.

Rosie O'Donnell attends Cool Comedy Hot Cuisine Benefitting The Scleroderma Research Foundation at Fairmont Century Plaza on Oct. 29, 2024 in Los Angeles.
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Overview

  • Speaking on Mamamia’s No Filter podcast released this week, O’Donnell called DeGeneres’ 2004 Larry King Live line—“I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends”—one of the most painful moments of her career.
  • She recalled backing DeGeneres during her 1997 coming-out moment, including a preplanned, coded “Lebanese” exchange on The Rosie O’Donnell Show to signal support.
  • O’Donnell said she was so stunned by the 2004 remark that she printed staff T‑shirts with the quote and that the two have never gotten over the rupture.
  • She has said DeGeneres later texted, “I’m really sorry, and I don’t remember that,” yet she describes having no closure and notes there has been no public reconciliation.
  • Reports highlight that DeGeneres posted “Good for you” on Instagram in July after Trump threatened O’Donnell’s citizenship, but recent coverage finds no broader thaw in their relationship.