Rosie O'Donnell, the comedian who literally packed her bags, crossed an ocean, and became an Irish citizen because Donald Trump was president, is apparently boomeranging right back to American television. According to The American Tribune, the 64 year old revealed on the Tangle With Kyle Ridley podcast that she would be part of The View's 30th season anniversary celebration.
Now before anyone gets too excited or too horrified, let's pump the brakes. O'Donnell clarified she would participate in "whatever way they want" but only as a guest. So this is less of a triumphant return and more of a "hey, swing by for cake" situation. She also noted that they are supposedly bringing back all the former hosts, and she expressed pride in what the program has evolved into.
But here is where things get deliciously awkward. A spokesperson for O'Donnell told Entertainment Weekly that there has actually been no official invitation from the show yet. So basically, Rosie confirmed something on a podcast that nobody formally asked her to do. That is the kind of confident energy we should all aspire to. Just show up and announce you are invited.
Meanwhile, another former host, Michelle Collins, posted on Instagram that she is still waiting by the phone for her callback. Welcome to the club, Michelle.
O'Donnell previously sat at that famous table during seasons 10 and 18, and both stints ended with all the grace of a demolition derby. Her first departure in 2007 came after a now legendary on air blowup with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Her second run featured what has been diplomatically described as a "tense" relationship with Whoopi Goldberg. O'Donnell told Ridley she went in thinking she and Whoopi would be like Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan, passing the rock and winning championships together. Instead, it apparently played out more like two people fighting over the last parking spot at Costco.
She speculated that Goldberg, now 70, may have felt her territory was being invaded, which is why their partnership "didn't go so well." But O'Donnell says they have since buried the hatchet, noting they are both grown women who support other women.
The comedian also took some shots at how the show was managed, calling it a "factory" that churned hosts in and out. She pointed out that a program created by a woman, designed for women, and focused on women was at the time being run by a man who decided the topics. She said that arrangement did not sit well with her.
Perhaps most amusing is what she told actress Brooke Shields back in 2023, when she declared co-hosting The View was something she would never do again, saying it was not the ideal use of her talents to argue about basic human decency on television. And yet here we are, watching the gravitational pull of that table reel her back in like it has its own force of nature.
ABC did not respond when the New York Post reached out for comment, which is probably the smartest move anyone in this story has made.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
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