Rosie O’Donnell has expressed her distrust for Ellen DeGeneres after the latter denied their friendship. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, O’Donnell recounted her relationship with DeGeneres after years of public fallout.
O’Donnell revealed that DeGeneres texted her a few weeks ago to check in, but when she asked how DeGeneres was surviving not being on TV after “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” ended in 2022, DeGeneres replied with, “I’m really sorry, and I don’t remember that.” Specifically, DeGeneres denied knowing O’Donnell on “Larry King Live” in 1998, despite years of friendship.
She ‘really hurt my feelings’
O’Donnell suspects DeGeneres reached out after seeing her on “Watch What Happens Live” in September 2022, where she spoke about the situation. O’Donnell said DeGeneres’ comment hurt her feelings, especially since they were friends for so many years and had a good relationship. Another issue O’Donnell had was that she was never invited to DeGeneres’ talk show, even though DeGeneres had appeared on her show in the past.
Rosie O’Donnell still doesn’t trust Ellen DeGeneres after the latter denied that they were ever friends.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, the actress dived into her relationship with DeGeneres after years of public fall-out.
“She texted me a few weeks ago checking in, seeing how I’m doing, and I asked her how she’s surviving not being on TV,” the former “View” host recalled, referring to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” ending in 2022.
When asked what their conversation was about, O’Donnell revealed, “She wrote, ‘I’m really sorry, and I don’t remember that.’”
Specifically, DeGeneres claimed she didn’t remember going on “Larry King Live” in 1998 and saying about O’Donnell, “I don’t know her. We’re not friends,” despite years of friendship.
O’Donnell further told THR that since the comment, “It’s a big transition. But we’ve had our weirdness in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt my feelings.”
“It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world,” she added.
O’Donnell speculated with the outlet that DeGeneres probably reached out after she saw her on “Watch What Happens Live” in September 2022, talking about the situation.
At the time, O’Donnell addressed their fallout, telling host Andy Cohen that DeGeneres’ comment really “hurt [her] feeling like a baby.”
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The “Harriet the Spy” star — who has five children — told THR that DeGeneres’ comment cut so deep because she has known her for “so many years” and they once had a “good relationship.”
“It would never occur to me to say ‘I don’t know her’ about somebody whose babies I held when they were born,” she said. “I have a picture of her holding [my son] Parker. I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room.”
Another thorn in O’Donnel’s side is the fact that she was never on DeGeneres’ talk show.
“… I asked to go on [DeGeneres’ show] because of something I was promoting, and she said no. And I remember going, ‘Seriously?’” she recalled. “After she said no that one time, whenever they would ask [me to appear] on the show, I would say no.”
This after DeGeneres had appeared on O’Donnell’s show — which aired from 1996 to 2002 — and the two came out as “lebanese.”
