Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O’Donnell: A Look Back at Their Tumultuous Past

In case any TV fans missed Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O’Donnell’s explosive on-air fight more than a decade ago, the two former View cohosts are dredging up their old drama now. Hasselbeck and O’Donnell had disagreed over politics throughout the ABC talk show’s 10th season, but their conflict turned into a shouting match in May 2007 when O’Donnell accused the Survivor alum of not defending her against media pundits who interpreted O’Donnell’s anti-war criticisms as equating the U.S. troops to terrorists. “Every day since September, I have told you that I support the troops,” the SMILF actress told her costar. “I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying. You said nothing, and that’s cowardly.” [jwplayer xwnuIzEt-zhNYySv2] Hasselbeck responded: “I just don’t understand why it’s my fault if people spin words that you put out there or phrases that suggest things. And I gave you an opportunity two days ago to clarify the statement that got you in trouble on all those things.” After the argument, speculation mounted that O’Donnell would exit her original run on the show early, even though she was only a month away from her previously announced departure. On her blog, the Emmy winner seemed to confirm the speculation in a poem, writing: “It may be time to be done / endings r hard 4 all / emotions r high / talking is tough.” Two days after the fight, ABC announced that O’Donnell had asked to be released from her contract. But her first abrupt exit was far from the end of her cold war with Hasselbeck.

The Fox & Friends alum eventually left The View in 2013 but returned nearly nine years later as a guest cohost.

“So much fun having @elisabethhasselbeck back at the #HotTopics table with us to guest co-host as part of our historic 25th season celebration! 💕,” the show captioned an August 2022 Instagram snap of Hasselbeck on set.

Upon Hasselbeck’s return to the show, O’Donnell opened up old wounds and shared her thoughts about the new guest panelist. “I watched it, from yesterday,” the A League of Their Own actress said in a TikTok video at the time. “And I remembered why I don't want to watch it with her anymore. Her little Post-it notes. I don't know.”

She added: “Listen. It's strange. Yeah. Um, hope you're having a good day. And if you saw that yesterday, hope you recovered.”

Scroll down to read more about their continuing feud: [podcast_block]

In case any TV fans missed Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O’Donnell’s explosive on-air fight more than a decade ago, the two former View cohosts are dredging up their old drama now. Hasselbeck and O’Donnell had disagreed over politics throughout the ABC talk show’s 10th season, but their conflict turned into a shouting match in May 2007 when O’Donnell accused the Survivor alum of not defending her against media pundits who interpreted O’Donnell’s anti-war criticisms as equating the U.S. troops to terrorists. “Every day since September, I have told you that I support the troops,” the SMILF actress told her costar. “I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying. You said nothing, and that’s cowardly.” [jwplayer xwnuIzEt-zhNYySv2] Hasselbeck responded: “I just don’t understand why it’s my fault if people spin words that you put out there or phrases that suggest things. And I gave you an opportunity two days ago to clarify the statement that got you in trouble on all those things.” After the argument, speculation mounted that O’Donnell would exit her original run on the show early, even though she was only a month away from her previously announced departure. On her blog, the Emmy winner seemed to confirm the speculation in a poem, writing: “It may be time to be done / endings r hard 4 all / emotions r high / talking is tough.” Two days after the fight, ABC announced that O’Donnell had asked to be released from her contract. But her first abrupt exit was far from the end of her cold war with Hasselbeck.

The Fox & Friends alum eventually left The View in 2013 but returned nearly nine years later as a guest cohost.

“So much fun having @elisabethhasselbeck back at the #HotTopics table with us to guest co-host as part of our historic 25th season celebration! 💕,” the show captioned an August 2022 Instagram snap of Hasselbeck on set.

Upon Hasselbeck’s return to the show, O’Donnell opened up old wounds and shared her thoughts about the new guest panelist. “I watched it, from yesterday,” the A League of Their Own actress said in a TikTok video at the time. “And I remembered why I don't want to watch it with her anymore. Her little Post-it notes. I don't know.”

She added: “Listen. It's strange. Yeah. Um, hope you're having a good day. And if you saw that yesterday, hope you recovered.”

Scroll down to read more about their continuing feud: [podcast_block]

The two TV personalities argued for nearly 10 minutes in that infamous May 2007 episode, disregarding Sherri Shepherd’s suggestion that they break for a commercial. The argument was even broadcast in split-screen view before cohost Joy Behar finally put her foot down and demanded a break.

Amid reports that O’Donnell would be returning as a permanent host for season 18, Hasselbeck called into Fox & Friends to express her astonishment. “Here in comes to The View the very woman who’s spit in the face of our military, spit in the face of her own network, and, really spit in the face of a person who stood by her and had civilized debates for the time that she was there,” she said.

After Behar called Hasselbeck’s comments “below the belt” and “kind of a nasty thing to say,” the former reality star — who was dismissed from the show in 2013 — defended herself on Instagram. “I don’t hate Rosie,” she wrote. “I actually called to talk to her 7 years ago. She did not want to speak to me. I am happy to have a [conversation] about why I would never defend her 2007 comments below.”

“This was kind of personal, this conversation,” Behar said in 2016, looking back on the fight. “It became a big argument on the air, and then there was a split screen.” Former executive producer Bill Geddie said that day was “a horrible day to be in the View studios,” and cohost Michelle Collins said the argument was “like Game of Thrones.”

In an interview for the forthcoming book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, O’Donnell revealed that she had “a little bit of a crush” on Hasselbeck but it was “in no way sexualized.” She also said that her feud partner exhibited “underlying lesbian undertones.”

On Fox & Friends, Hasselbeck said O’Donnell’s comments in the book excerpt were “disturbing” and “offensive” and claimed she “immediately started praying” when she read them. “If you took her words and you replaced Rosie for Ronald, there would be an objectification of women in the workplace,” she added. “So that is disturbing and it’s wrong. And whether you’re a man or whether you’re a woman and you’re objectifying women in the workplace, it’s wrong.” She expressed similar sentiments on The View in March 2019 in conversation with current hosts Behar, Meghan McCain, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Abby Huntsman.

That same day, O’Donnell addressed her former costar’s concerns. “hey eh - my crush on u was not sexual - sorry u got scared,” she tweeted. “surely u recall b4 it all went wrong - i never objectified u - i did find u fantastic - broadway shows - my pool -we were friends once :heart: god love ya kid - i always did.”

The Rhode Island native joined the ABC cohosts as a guest panelist in August 2022. While she was thrilled to return to The View, O’Donnell was perplexed by her inclusion.

“I remembered why I don't want to watch it with her anymore. Her little Post-it notes. I don't know,” the Harriet the Spy actress explained in a TikTok clip several days later. “Listen. It's strange. Yeah. Um, hope you're having a good day. And if you saw that yesterday, hope you recovered.”