The Setup: Rosie O'Donnell Reveals Behind-The-Scenes Drama on The View
Rosie O'Donnell Spills Tea on The View Feud: "It Was a Setup"
In a bombshell revelation, comedian and former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell is spilling the tea on her infamous feud with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View. In an interview on Ricki Lee and Tim Joel's radio show, O'Donnell dropped a major secret: she believes their explosive argument in 2007 was orchestrated by producers to create drama for ratings.
The catfight between O'Donnell and Hasselbeck has become one of the most iconic moments in The View history. But according to O'Donnell, it was all staged. "Our producer is not an on-the-fly kind of guy," she claimed. "He wouldn't have left the segment up to chance like that." O'Donnell accused producers of favoring a more dramatic approach, setting up the infamous argument between her and Hasselbeck.
The drama went down during a discussion about the Iraq War in May 2007. O'Donnell made a statement that would spark outrage: "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists?" She claimed her critics twisted her words, but Hasselbeck called her out for using the term "terrorists" to describe American troops.
As the argument escalated, O'Donnell lashed out at Hasselbeck for not defending her on-air. But Hasselbeck shot back, saying O'Donnell was an adult who should stand up for her own views without needing someone else's validation. The other co-hosts, Joy Behar and Sherri Shepherd, tried to intervene, but the fight continued.
O'Donnell admitted in her interview that she was hurt by Hasselbeck's alleged behind-the-scenes behavior and the on-camera argument. She claimed they had established a friendship before the incident and that Hasselbeck had even brought her child to O'Donnell's home for pool parties and Broadway shows.
"I bent over backwards for this woman," O'Donnell said, recalling their supposed friendship. "She came to my house, she was in my pool, she brought her little kid...I took her kid to Sesame Street Live, I took her to her first Broadway opening." But despite their alleged friendship, Hasselbeck remained on the show for a decade after O'Donnell's departure.
Their feud didn't end there. In 2019, O'Donnell revealed in an interview that she had "a little bit of a crush" on Hasselbeck, though she claimed it wasn't in a "sexual way." She also suggested that Hasselbeck's athletic background might have given her "underlying lesbian undertones."
Hasselbeck fired back on Fox & Friends, calling O'Donnell's comments "offensive and disturbing." "I think her casting a stereotype on female athletes...is unfair and untrue," she said.
O'Donnell shot back on X (formerly Twitter), saying: "Surely u recall before it all went wrong – I never objectified you – I did find you fantastic – Broadway shows – my pool – we were friends once ❤️ God love ya kid – I always did."
