Rosie O’Donnell is setting the record straight about whether fans can expect to see her back at The View Hot Topics table in the future.
The comedian and actress previously served as a co-host on the daytime talk show during two separate stints. Her outspoken opinions and memorable on-air moments made her one of the program’s most talked-about panelists.
Because of her complicated history with the series, fans have long wondered whether she would ever consider returning. Now, O’Donnell is sharing exactly where she stands on the possibility of making a comeback.
Would Rosie O’Donnell Return to ‘The View?’
During an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” on Thursday, June 18, Rosie O’Donnell was asked by an audience member whether or not she would be open to the idea of returning to the daytime talk show. O’Donnell was the series’ moderator from September 2006 to May 2007 and served as a co-host from September 2014 through February 2015.
She revealed, “I would be up to guest host, but they haven’t asked me. So we’ll see what happens.”
Cohen asked O’Donnell if she still had feelings about the infamous television moment when a “View” producer went to a split screen during a particularly heated, and now infamous, exchange with former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck in 2007. The debate was about the Iraq War.
She responded, “I’m still annoyed. Believe me. A mommy knows how to hold a grudge.”
O’Donnell Previously Discussed the Infamous ‘View’ Incident in 2025
GettyIn 2025, O’Donnell discussed the incident during an interview with the Australian radio show Ricki-Lee, Tim Joel. She believed former “View” producer, Bill Geddie, staged the unforgettable television moment.
“When I took that job, I made one commitment to myself that I was not going to be [Hasselbeck]’s enemy,” she began. “I was going to meet her as a person. She came to my house, she swam in my pool, brought her kid. I took her kid to see ‘Sesame Street Live.’ I took her to her first Broadway opening. I bent over backwards for this woman.”
“Then here she is, going at me on national tv about whether or not I was patriotic,” O’Donnell continued. “It felt to me like I was on a basketball team of five women, and one of them kept tripping me on my way to the hoop”
“When they had the split screen, and our producers was not an ‘on the fly’ kind of guy. That was prepared,” the former talk show host claimed.
“The whole thing, I think, was a setup,” O’Donnell concluded.
The incident led O’Donnell to request a release from her contract. She was only on the series eight months at the time. ABC agreed.
Current “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg shared details of reuniting with Rosie O’Donnell backstage recently at a performance of Broadway’s “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
“Rosie was there; she looks amazing,” Goldberg stated. “She has a one-woman show she’s doing, too. She’s got all kinds of great stuff going on, but she looked amazing. It was terrific.”
“The View” airs live, weekdays at 11 a.m. EST on ABC.
