Ellen DeGeneres Shows a Rare Moment of Solidarity With Her Hollywood Archenemy
Ellen DeGeneres left the U.S. after the November 2024 election, settling in The Cotswolds in England with her wife, Portia de Rossi. The exit might have given her a new perspective after a long-standing feud with another comedian.
It’s no secret that there’s been no love lost between DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, but the former Ellen star appears to be extending an olive branch. It’s a surprising move, but possibly a welcome one, amid Donald Trump’s claim that he was “giving serious consideration” to revoking O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship. O’Donnell currently lives in Ireland with their child, Clay, 12.
DeGeneres decided to enter the chat with an Instagram post on July 13. She shared the president’s initial threat from Truth Social and O’Donnell’s response — both were posted on July 12. The former talk show host kept her thoughts rather simple, but she made sure to tag O’Donnell so that she would see the message.
“Good for you @rosie,” wrote DeGeneres in the caption.
The comedians’ feud goes back to 1998 on Larry King Live when DeGeneres made a surprising comment about O’Donnell.
“I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends,” DeGeneres told the late talk show host. O’Donnell was never invited on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and it wasn’t until 2023 that she received a text with an apology.
“[DeGeneres] wrote, ‘I’m really sorry and I don’t remember that.’ I guess she saw me talk about it on Andy Cohen’s show [Watch What Happens Live]. I remembered it so well; I had T-shirts printed and I gave them to my staff that said ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’ I have a picture of her holding [my then-infant son] Parker,” O’Donnell told The Hollywood Reporter. “I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room. I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world.”
DeGeneres has also been accused of not supporting other female comedians, including Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho. So, it’s not just an O’Donnell-exclusive issue.
DeGeneres eventually addressed her damaged reputation in her 2024 Netflix special, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval.
“Yeah, the ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind, that was the headline,” she said. “Here’s the problem: I’m a comedian who got a talk show, and I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f—k yourselves,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.”
Before you go, click here to see celebrity co-stars who allegedly hated each other in real life.