Rosie O’Donnell, who is now sixty-four years old, has left the door open for a return to The View. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on June 18, the comedian and former talk show host was asked if she’d consider coming back as a guest host, much like her former sparring partner Elisabeth Hasselbeck had done earlier this year.
“I would be up to guest host, but they haven’t asked me. So we’ll see what happens,” she shared.
As per a report shared by Variety, Rosie O’Donnell’s exit from The View came in 2015, after just five months on the show. She had publicly cited a desire to focus on family following her divorce from Michelle Rounds, whom she had married in 2012 and even tattooed the first initial of on her wedding-ring finger.
That being said, those close to the situation told Variety the split wasn’t the only factor driving her out. Insiders pointed to tensions with co-host Whoopi Goldberg, behind-the-scenes executive turmoil at the show and a feeling, shared by those close to O’Donnell, that ABC wasn’t properly making use of her strengths.
Rosie O’Donnell reignites feud with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, calls her perfect for President Donald Trump’s era:
As per a report shared by Us Weekly, O’Donnell’s appearance on Watch What Happens Live also stirred up her long-running feud with former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck,who is now forty-nine years old. She revealed she had tuned in to watch Hasselbeck’s return to The View in March, and didn’t hold back when asked about it.
“It’s interesting, in the time of Trump, I think she’s the perfect person they want on TV spouting their rhetoric, you know?” O’Donnell said.
The two women famously clashed during O’Donnell’s first run on The View, which lasted from 2006 to 2007. In May of 2007, a heated debate over the Iraq war turned into one of the show’s most talked-about moments, with producers cutting to a split-screen shot of both women mid-argument. O’Donnell, it turns out, has never quite let that go.
“Are you still annoyed that the director went to the split screen?” asked Andy Cohen.
“Yeah, I’m still annoyed, believe me. Mommy knows how to hold a grudge,” she responded.
Rosie O’Donnell says the split-screen was a set-up and explains her 2015 exit for health reasons:
In an October 2025 radio interview, Rosie O’Donnell went a step further on the split-screen moment, claiming it was no accident.
“Our producer [was] not an on-the-fly kind of guy … he wouldn’t have been like, ‘Let’s go to a splitscreen.’ That was prepared,” O’Donnell said.
She didn’t wait around after the segment aired. Rosie O’Donnell packed her dressing room that same day, returned briefly to finish the remaining segments, then walked out and never came back.
“When I went off the stage that day, I went to my dressing room to pack all my stuff up, go back and do the rest of the segments … and walked out and never went back,” O’Donnell said.
“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. … This [was] supposed to be my team,” she added.
That being said, Rosie O’Donnell didn’t place the blame entirely on others.
“They were right to have me leave that show. It is not the best way for me to serve the talent and the people, because arguing about ridiculous, made-up things is a way for a slow death,” O’Donnell said.
She did return to The View for a five-month stint in 2014, before departing again in early 2015, this time citing medical reasons.
“[My health] got a little bit worse right before the holidays — [my doctor] was kind of concerned,” O’Donnell said at the time.
“I can’t really fix [my personal life] right away, but I can fix [my job]. So I spoke to them at ABC, and I told them, and they understood. They’ve been unbelievably supportive and loving,” she added.
Edited by Ryan D’souza