Comedian Rosie O'Donnell has pulled back the curtain on her infamous 2007 argument on "The View" with Republican TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
While on the "Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel" show, the former talk-show host, 63, claimed that a producer on the "The View" was behind the heated exchange with her former co-host. She referenced the use of a split screen, which she believes indicated the he planned for the pair to argue profusely.
"That was prepared so the whole thing I think was a set up," O'Donnell said. "Our producer is not on the fly kind of guy. He wasn’t, like, Mr. Let’s-go-to-a-split-screen."
During a May 23, 2007 episode of the show, a political discussion between O'Donnell and the former "Survivor" contestant about American troops in Iraq escalated into an intense personal altercation.
Soon enough the pair were yelling at each other for around 10 minutes. O'Donnell accused Hasselbeck of not defending her against claims that the comedian was un-American for opposing military advances while Hasselbeck said she was giving O'Donnell to opportunity to defend herself.
Once friends, the two found themselves calling each other cowardly on-air and two days later ABC confirmed O'Donnell asked to be released from her contract.
"Like, I bent over backwards for this woman, and here she was comin’ at me on national TV about whether or not I was patriotic,” 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."
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for "The View" and Hasselbeck for comment.
Rosie O'Donnell expects to become Irish citizen soon
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell said she is in the process of becoming an Ireland citizen after fleeing the United States because of its political climate amid President Donald Trump's second term.
Earlier this year, O'Donnell announced she moved to the European nation because it was no longer bearable to live in the U.S. following Trump's 2024 election victory. During a recent interview with the Australian Daily Telegraph, she opened up about her "self-imposed" political exile.
"I am applying and about to be approved for my Irish citizenship as my grandparents were from there, and that's all you need. It will be good to have my Irish citizenship, especially since Trump keeps threatening to take mine away," she told the outlet.
In a statement to USA TODAY White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said "What great news for America!"
O'Donnell, who has five children, has been vocal about the president's prior threats to revoke the her U.S. citizenship, despite the New York native being granted birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendent. In a Sept. 3 Truth Social post, Trump said that his administration was considering revoking O'Donnell's citizenship adding "She is not a Great American and is, in my opinion, incapable of being so!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rosie O'Donnell calls fight with 'The View' co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck a 'set up'
Reporting by Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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