The comedians Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres both recently fled the United States to move overseas to the United Kingdom. O’Donnell moved to Ireland in January. Meanwhile, DeGeneres moved to England in November.
Though O’Donnell and DeGeneres have quite a lot in common career-wise, there has long been no love lost between them. In a new interview, O’Donnell revealed why she was “shocked” that DeGeneres also decided to move to Europe.
O’Donnell ‘Shocked’ By DeGeneres’ Move
DeGeneres has yet to speak out publicly about her move to England. However, it came immediately after Donald Trump won the presidential election, leading many to speculate that this was the reason why she left America. This is ultimately what left O’Donnell “shocked” by the move.
“I’ve never really known Ellen to say anything political in her life, so I was surprised to read that she left because of President Trump. Like, that shocked me, actually,” O’Donnell, 63, told US Weekly. I’ve been a political person my whole life, not better or worse, it’s just a different way to be in the world.”
“I was very clear about the reason why I was leaving, and I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone,” she added.
O’Donnell went on to admit that she’s not close to DeGeneres.
“We’re not really in each other’s worlds, and it’s been kind of awkward but you know what?” she continued. “I wish her the best. I wish that she has peace and love in her life and that she is OK.”
Related: Rosie O’Donnell Puts Her Money Where Her Mouth Is And Flees U.S. – Confirms She’s Moved To Ireland
O’Donnell Has No ‘Malice’ For DeGeneres
There may be no love lost between O’Donnell and DeGeneres. However, O’Donnell wants the world to know that she doesn’t have any “malice” towards the former The Ellen DeGeneres Show host.
“I don’t want to fight against another gay woman,” O’Donnell explained. “It’s not like we’re tenaciously opposed to each other. We’re just very different people. We have had some stuff in the past that we never resolved. And not in any way as, as partners or lovers or anything like that, just as friends and comedians, but I wish her the best. I seriously do.”
“I think that there’s enough room in the world for all of the gay comedians, and we all need to stick together,” she concluded.
Related: Ellen DeGeneres UK Move Backfires Just Weeks After She Moved
O’Donnell’s History With DeGeneres
O’Donnell previously revealed that her feud with DeGeneres stems from an old interview with Larry King. In it, DeGeneres claimed that she didn’t know O’Donnell and that she wasn’t friends with her. This was deeply hurtful to O’Donnell, as she had been very close to DeGeneres in the 1990s.
“Ellen wrote [in a text], “I’m really sorry and I don’t remember that,”‘ O’Donnell told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “It would never occur to me to say ‘I don’t know her’ about somebody whose babies I held when they were born. It wouldn’t be in my lexicon of choices to ever say.”
“When she was in a perplexing situation and people were saying things about her, I said, ‘Let me stand next to you and say that I’m Lebanese, too,'” she added. “When it was a downward media time for me, she didn’t do anything.”
Find out more about this in the video below.
Despite both fleeing the U.S. to move the U.K., it seems that O’Donnell and DeGeneres won’t be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon. Only time will tell if either one of them ever ends up moving back to the states again!
More About:Celebrity News