O\u2019Donnell shared that it felt \u201cvery threatening\u201d watching that episode as a person who hadn\u2019t publicly confirmed their sexuality, before touching on her past friendship with DeGeneres. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone then wanted to know, \u2018Well, are you gay?\u2019\u201d she said. At the time of \u201cEllen\u201d\u2019s peak, O\u2019Donnell was also hosting her popular \u201cThe Rosie O\u2019Donnell Show\u201d daytime television show. Despite feeling threatened, she said she wanted DeGeneres to come on her show and talk about the groundbreaking sitcom. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe came on my show, and I felt strongly that I didn\u2019t want to leave her out there alone,\u201d O\u2019Donnell explained. \u201cThat I could not (as a) gay person act as though I was not the same as her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the two chatted about the sit-down backstage before the interview began. DeGeneres joked to O\u2019Donnell that her \u201cEllen\u201d character was going to \u201cbecome Lebanese<\/a>.\u201d During the interview, after DeGeneres made the quip, O\u2019Donnell responded by saying she could also be \u201cLebanese\u201d because she was a fan of Casey Kasem. <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who was gay at home got it. Because I wouldn\u2019t leave her out there alone. I couldn\u2019t do it. So we had this, you know, really sort of decoded, coded, interaction that anyone who was gay knew. But, you know, the public didn\u2019t really pick up on it,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said. <\/p>\n She continued, \u201cIt just felt like, \u2018Oh, this could really threaten me.\u2019 But still, my internal clock wouldn\u2019t allow me to distance myself from her. I had to stand by her and hold her hand, and that\u2019s what I chose to do. Then, you know, it\u2019s funny, because she never really, I didn\u2019t think, appreciated that moment.\u201d <\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell then shared the moment their friendship unraveled. <\/p>\n She remembered watching Larry King interview DeGeneres one night with her ex-wife Kelli Carpenter by her side. Larry asked DeGeneres about the ending of \u201cThe Rosie O\u2019Donnell Show,\u201d which aired its final episode in 2002. According to O\u2019Donnell, she was offered to return to host the talk show, but she walked away because she wanted to focus on her family. <\/p>\n \u201cHe asked her, \u2018Whatever happened to Rosie O\u2019Donnell? Her show went down the tubes,\u2019\u201d O\u2019Donnell said while mimicking the late broadcaster\u2019s voice. \u201cAnd Ellen said, \u2018I don\u2019t know Rosie. We\u2019re not friends.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell added, \u201cThat was like one of the most painful things that ever happened to me in show business in my life.\u201d <\/p>\n She said she was stunned by DeGeneres\u2019 reply given that the two had known each other for decades. <\/p>\n \u201cI have photos of her holding my newborn babies. I knew her for 30 years,\u201d she shared. O\u2019Donnell said she was so upset at the time that she made t-shirts for her talk show staff that included the quote. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was very painful and, you know, we\u2019ve never sort of gotten over it,\u201d she told Langbroek.<\/p>\n TODAY.com<\/a> has reached out to DeGeneres for a comment. <\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell claimed DeGeneres never addressed the moment with her. She also pointed out that when \u201cThe Ellen DeGeneres Show\u201d<\/a> launched in 2003 it included some of the same production team members from \u201cThe Rosie O\u2019Donnell Show.\u201d But she said she didn\u2019t \u201cblame\u201d DeGeneres for hiring the same people. <\/p>\n \u201cBut I did think that she was all of a sudden in the position I was in, where she was starting a show and wanted it to be successful and get the money and the accolades that came with it,\u201d O\u2019Donnell explained. \u201cAnd instead of deciding to stand next to me and hold my hand, which is what I did to her, she did the opposite. I couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d <\/p>\n She emphasized repeatedly that she and DeGeneres are not similar people. <\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell previously spoke about DeGeneres<\/a> when the former talk show host faced toxic workplace allegations<\/a> in 2020. <\/p>\n![\"Portia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Portia-de-Rossi-Ellen-DeGeneres--Rosie-ODonnell-lc-250909-c10378.jpg\")
Portia de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell backstage at the 33rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 2006.Jeff Kravitz \/ FilmMagic<\/p>\n