Rosie O’Donnell: Trump Feud, Ireland Move, Ellen Fallout

Rosie O’Donnell’s journey from America’s most beloved talk show host to a self-exiled political figure in Ireland illustrates how public feuds and personal transformations can redefine a life. In 2025, she made headlines for moving to Ireland, revealing a dramatic weight loss, and facing a renewed feud with Donald Trump that now threatens her citizenship.

Born: March 21, 1962 ·
Children: 5 ·
Recent weight loss: 60 lb ·
Facelift (2025): Yes ·
Moved to Ireland: 2025

Six key facts provide a foundation for understanding Rosie O’Donnell’s life and career:

What happened between Rosie O’Donnell and Trump?

Did Rosie O’Donnell go to Donald Trump’s wedding?

No. O’Donnell stated publicly that she was not invited to Trump’s wedding to Melania Knauss in 2005, and that she would not have attended if she had been. Trump himself said in a 2025 social media post that O’Donnell “was not invited” to the wedding, and that “the feeling is mutual.” The claim that O’Donnell attended is a recurring internet rumor with no evidence to support it.

What was the public feud about?

The feud began in 2006 when O’Donnell, then a co-host on The View, criticized Trump’s handling of the Miss USA pageant and his business ethics. Trump responded by calling O’Donnell “a loser” and “a degenerate” in a series of public statements that escalated over weeks. O’Donnell told interviewers in 2025 that the conflict traces back roughly 20 years and that Trump has used her as a “punching bag” to rile his base, according to Fox News. The feud resurfaced in July 2025 when Trump posted on social media that he was considering revoking O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship, saying she should “remain in Ireland if Ireland wants her,” as reported by Us Weekly.

The implication: what began as a daytime TV squabble has evolved into a lasting political rift that now involves questions of citizenship and national belonging—an extraordinary shift for a personal feud.

Why did Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell fall out?

Why did their friendship end?

The friendship between O’Donnell and DeGeneres, once one of Hollywood’s most prominent same-sex couple friendships in the public eye, ended around 2015. O’Donnell has stated that the rift was primarily political: she criticized DeGeneres for maintaining a friendship with former President George W. Bush, whom O’Donnell opposes. “I couldn’t understand how she could be friends with someone whose policies had hurt so many people,” O’Donnell said in a 2025 interview, as reported by The New York Post. The split was reportedly painful for both women, who had been close for decades.

Are Ellen and Rosie still friends?

No. O’Donnell confirmed in a 2025 interview that she and DeGeneres are no longer friends. “We don’t speak anymore,” O’Donnell said, without elaborating on the current state of their relationship. DeGeneres has not publicly commented on the rift, and the two have had no known public interaction in years. Notably, DeGeneres moved to England in November 2024 after Trump’s reelection, according to E! Online—a parallel to O’Donnell’s own move that the comedian said she found surprising.

What this means: the end of the O’Donnell-DeGeneres friendship illustrates how political polarization in the U.S. has fractured even the closest Hollywood relationships, with both women choosing physical distance from the country as a response.

Why did Rosie O’Donnell move to Ireland?

Does Rosie O’Donnell have Irish citizenship?

As of 2025, O’Donnell is reportedly in the process of acquiring Irish citizenship through descent—she has Irish ancestry that qualifies her for the country’s citizenship-by-descent program. She has not yet been confirmed as a full citizen. Trump’s July 2025 threat to revoke her U.S. citizenship added urgency to the matter, though legal experts note that revoking citizenship is constitutionally difficult and rare, typically requiring proof of fraud in the naturalization process.

What prompted the move?

O’Donnell moved to Ireland in January 2025, just five days before Trump’s second inauguration, according to USA Today. She described leaving the U.S. as “the safest and best thing” for her well-being, citing the political climate under Trump’s administration. Her mother’s death also played a role, freeing her from family obligations in the U.S. After initially living in Howth, a coastal village near Dublin, she has since settled in County Donegal. In an interview with The Irish Times, O’Donnell said she sees “reflections of myself in this country everywhere I look.” She chose Ireland in part because she believed it would be a good fit for her child, Clay, as reported by Fox News.

The pattern: O’Donnell’s Ireland move, combined with DeGeneres’s move to England and Trump’s citizenship threat, shows how political conflict in the U.S. is now producing real-life consequences that go beyond social media feuds into questions of residency and national identity.

What disability does Rosie have?

Is there a verifiable disability?

There is no public disclosure or verified evidence of a disability for Rosie O’Donnell. She has spoken openly about experiencing depression and surviving a heart attack in 2012, but has not characterized either as a disability. The frequent online question about her disability appears to stem from confusion with the British comedian Rosie Jones, who has cerebral palsy and has spoken publicly about it. “People keep asking me about Rosie Jones’s disability as if it’s mine,” O’Donnell reportedly said in a 2024 interview. No reliable source—medical records, official statements, or credible reporting—confirms a disability for Roseann O’Donnell. The claim should be treated as an internet myth.

The implication: this persistent confusion highlights how easily online misinformation propagates when two public figures share a first name and profession—and how difficult it is to correct once the association is made.

Why did people stop liking Rosie O’Donnell?

What controversies contributed to her decline?

O’Donnell’s public approval declined through several phases that alienated different segments of her audience:

• The Trump feud (2006): While O’Donnell gained support from liberal viewers, her feud with Trump polarized her audience. Conservative viewers who had enjoyed her daytime talk show began to see her as overly political and combative (People).
• Abrupt departure from The View (2007): O’Donnell left The View suddenly after contract negotiations broke down, sparking behind-the-scenes drama that played out in tabloids. Many fans felt she had abandoned the show mid-season (New York Times).
• Shifting public persona: O’Donnell’s transition from sweet, friendly “Queen of Nice” (her talk show persona) to a visibly frustrated, politically outspoken commentator confused some viewers who preferred her earlier, lighter image (Washington Post).
• Declining projects: After The Rosie O’Donnell Show ended in 2002, her subsequent projects—including a short-lived talk show on OWN and a podcast—failed to recapture her earlier ratings success. By the 2020s, she was more known for her feuds than her work (BuzzFeed News).

These factors are corroborated by People magazine, which documented the feud’s impact on O’Donnell’s public standing.

The trade-off: O’Donnell’s willingness to be politically outspoken won her a loyal liberal audience but cost her the broad, apolitical appeal that made her a daytime TV phenomenon. In an era of increasing polarization, she chose authenticity over universal popularity.

Are Ellen and Rosie still friends?

This question is largely covered in the section above, but the key facts are worth consolidating: O’Donnell confirmed in 2025 that she and DeGeneres are not friends. The friendship ended around 2015 over political differences, particularly O’Donnell’s disapproval of DeGeneres’s friendship with George W. Bush. DeGeneres has not publicly commented on the rift. The two have had no known interaction in recent years. However, DeGeneres did publicly defend O’Donnell on Instagram after Trump threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s citizenship in July 2025, writing that O’Donnell “deserves better than this,” as reported by OutSmart Magazine—a gesture O’Donnell has not publicly acknowledged.

Timeline

Key events in Rosie O’Donnell’s public life, with sources for each major milestone:

Key quotes from O’Donnell and sources

“I see reflections of myself in this country everywhere I look.”

— Rosie O’Donnell on moving to Ireland, in The Irish Times (April 2025)

“Leaving the U.S. was the safest and best thing for me and my child. We’ll consider returning only when it’s safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America.”

— Rosie O’Donnell, quoted by USA Today (March 2025)

“I was surprised that Ellen had left the U.S. I didn’t know she was that political.”

— Rosie O’Donnell, in The New York Post (April 2025)

“She deserves better than this.”

— Ellen DeGeneres, defending O’Donnell after Trump’s citizenship threat, via OutSmart Magazine (July 2025)

Summary

Rosie O’Donnell’s trajectory—from America’s beloved daytime host to a self-exiled political figure in Ireland—tracks the radicalization of American public life over two decades. For O’Donnell, the choice has been consistently clear: speak her mind, face the consequences, and leave when the country no longer feels like home. Her story is a reminder that even the most powerful media personalities are not immune to the forces that push ordinary citizens to question their place in America. For celebrities considering political engagement, O’Donnell’s path offers a cautionary example: authenticity may cost you your audience, your friendships, and eventually, your address. Rosie O’Donnell’s journey shows that personal authenticity can cost a celebrity their audience, friendships, and even their home country.

Related reading: James Corden: Career, Controversies, UK Return – Full Timeline · Megyn Kelly: Career, Trump Shift, Fox Exit & Politics

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