Ellen DeGeneres has one of the most iconic talk shows of all time and it has had a wide variety of guests on but some how it has never seen the face of one Rosie O’Donnell, who actually has had a remarkably similar career path to Ellen; almost eerily similar.
Both of these women began their careers among the comedy circuit, before launching into the acting direction and eventually winding up as talk show hosts and becoming the household names in the area. Ellen’s talk show actually came on the air only a little while after Rosie’s went off. Both women are LGBTQ icons and have used their fame and gravitas to speak out popularly in support of the community.
Now, after many years, Rosie appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” and finally dished the details regarding why she never came to Ellen’s show.
Rosie revealed that her avoidance had to do with a remark that Ellen made while speaking to Larry King, which hurt significantly and she was never able to get over it. She explained it in the following words:
“We had a little bit of a weird thing. After my show went off the air and hers was coming on the air, Larry King was on with Ellen and he said, ‘Whatever happened to Rosie O’Donnell? Her show went down the tubes! She came out as a lesbian and disappeared!’”
She went on, “And Ellen said, and I’m quoting, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’ I was in bed with [my ex-wife] Kelli [Carpenter] and I went, ‘Did I just hear that, or was that a hallucination?’ No, that’s what happened. It hurt my feelings like a baby, and I never really got over it.”
Rosie did reveal that the producers of Ellen’s show eventually called her on the show but she wanted to take someone with her and when they didn’t agree she declined.
She said, “I wanted to bring someone with me because I thought it might be a little less awkward, and they didn’t want to do that.”
She did add that she holds no ill will toward Ellen, saying, “I wish her all good things in her life and that she should be well. So, there you go.”
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