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Rosie O’Donnell says Ellen DeGeneres texted and apologized for her hurtful comment

The actress still sounds hurt by the remark


Jovita Trujillo
Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
JUNE 15, 2023 7:23 PM EDT

Rosie O’Donnell has finally gotten an apology from Ellen DeGeneres. In September the former host opened up about DeGeneres, saying she was still hurt after she told Larry King, “I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.”

Ellen Degener and Rosie O’Donnell© Getty
Ellen said she didn’t know Rosie on Larry King

O’Donnell opened up about their fall out with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, and it looks like DeGeneres saw the episode. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed that she recently received a text from her that said, “I’m really sorry, and I don’t remember that.”

The comic didn’t leave her on read and asked her “how she’s surviving not being on TV.” “It’s a big transition. But we’ve had our weirdness in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition, or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt my feelings,” she said.

Ellen DeGeners and Rosie on her show hugging© The Rosie O’Donnell Show
Ellen appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell show in 1996

DeGeneres made the “we’re not friends‘ comment after the O’Donnell show ended. King asked her, “Whatever happened to Rosie O’Donnell? Her show went down the tubes. She came out as a lesbian and disappeared.”

The LGBTQ+ advocate also shared how she coped with the situation after it happened. “I had T-shirts printed and I gave them to my staff that said “I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends,” she said.

She also shared more insight into what their relationship was like before she claimed she didn’t know her. “I have a picture of her holding Parker. I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room,” she said. “I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world.”

O’Donnell also pointed out DeGeneres used the same staff from her show, Jim Paratore, and Andy Lassner. “So that was odd. It was very similar to my show.” She said she asked to go on DeGeneres’ show to promote something, and she said no. “I remember going, ‘Seriously?’ After she said no that one time, whenever they would ask [me to appear] on the show, I would say no.”

Although DeGeneres apologized, it seems like this is one celebrity friendship we won’t see again.