Rosie O’Donnell Was ‘Shocked’ Ellen DeGeneres Left The U.S. When Trump Won

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell said she was “shocked” that Ellen DeGeneres moved out of the United States when Donald Trump was re-elected.

O’Donnell defected to Europe for political reasons, but didn’t think DeGeneres would do the same.

“I’ve never really known Ellen to say anything political in her life, so I was surprised to read that she left because of President Trump. Like, that shocked me, actually,” O’Donnell told US Weekly in a recently published interview. “I’ve been a political person my whole life, not better or worse, it’s just a different way to be in the world.”

The “Ellen” show host and Portia de Rossi moved to the English countryside last year and have sold most of their properties in the U.S., according to People, but still have at least one home that requires them to retain a “chicken sitter.” 

Meanwhile, O’Donnell has been posting updates on TikTok about her reasons for leaving, which mostly have to do with concerns regarding her transgender-identifying child. She and Trump also have an ongoing feud from years back.

“I was very clear about the reason why I was leaving, and I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone,” O’Donnell told the outlet about her move to Ireland. She also referenced a former feud with DeGeneres, saying, “We’re not really in each other’s worlds, and it’s been kind of awkward but you know what? I wish her the best. I wish that she has peace and love in her life and that she is OK.”

“I don’t want to fight against another gay woman,” she added. “It’s not like we’re tenaciously opposed to each other. We’re just very different people. We have had some stuff in the past that we never resolved. And not in any way as, as partners or lovers or anything like that, just as friends and comedians, but I wish her the best. I seriously do.” 

O’Donnell discussed what happened between them during an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” in 2022. “We had a little bit of a weird thing,” the comedian said at the time. “Larry King was on with Ellen and he said ‘What ever happened to Rosie O’Donnell? Her show went down the tubes! She came out as a lesbian and disappeared!'”

“And Ellen said, and I’m quoting, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends,'” she continued.

O’Donnell said in 2023 that DeGeneres apologized after it happened. She also noted how it hurt because they had known each other for “years” when DeGeneres claimed not to know her. 

“She wrote, ‘I’m really sorry, and I don’t remember that.’ I guess she saw me talk about it on Andy Cohen’s show,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”