Not forgotten. Rosie O’Donnell opened up about her relationship – or lack thereof – with fellow comedian Ellen DeGeneres during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, revealing why she never appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show during its nearly 20-year run.
“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,’” the American Gigolo actress, 60, told host Andy Cohen. “And Ellen said, and I’m quoting, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.’”
Rosie admitted she was taken aback by the Emmy Award winner’s comments, considering DeGeneres, 64, had guest starred on The Rosie O’Donnell Show in the ‘90s.
“I was in bed with [then-wife] Kelli [Carpenter], and I went, ‘Did I just hear that or was that, like, a hallucination auditory voice?’” O’Donnell continued. “I’m like, no, and that’s what happened, and it hurt my feelings like a baby, and I never really got over it.”
O’Donnell went on to say that she eventually was invited to appear as a guest on the Finding Dory actor’s talk show toward the end of its run; however, after requesting to bring a guest with her to make it “a little less awkward,” her request was denied.
A rep for Ellen DeGeneres did not immediately respond to In Touch‘s request for comment.
Though the L Word: Generation Q actress hasn’t forgotten the Ellen alum’s comments about her, O’Donnell said she isn’t harboring any feelings of ill will toward the talk show host.
“I wish her all good things in her life and that she should be well,” she continued. “So, there you go. But I never did it. I never did it.”
The Ellen DeGeneres Show first debuted in 2003, with its final episode airing in May this year, in which DeGeneres tearfully thanked fans, friends and fellow celebs for all the support she’s received over the years.
“If this show has made you smile, if it has lifted you up when you’re in a period of some type of pain, some type of sadness, anything you are going through, then I have done my job. … This show has forever changed my life,” she said. “It is the greatest experience I have ever had, beyond my wildest imagination.”
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