Rosie O’Donnell Clears The Air On Anne Heche's 'Don't Say Gay' Accusation

Following the unfortunate death of Anne Heche, an accusation came to light linked to one of Heche's appearances on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and her sexuality.

The claims were directed at the then-host, Rosie O'Donnell, who recently appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" to address them, revealing that she was as shocked as everyone about the allegations.

Wondering if it felt "weird" to O'Donnell to leave her highly celebrated show, Howard Stern asked and also inquired if she lost friendships along the way with the show's end. He described her as the "queen of that whole thing" who could make stars or break them. This led O'Donnell to say she never really saw it that way, even though many people called her that.

She then recalled a video where Heche said the TV personality harassed her in a dressing room, and she pointed out that the late actress believed she could "break" people. The Daytime Emmy Awards winner felt "bereft" about the "Six Days, Seven Nights" actress's death, and she further shared how often she and the deceased hung out, which was not so much.

Heche appeared on her show twice, had lunch with her once, and she and her then-partner Ellen DeGeneres visited O'Donnell's Miami home, where she swam in the pool. The American comedian said she always felt sorry for the "Another World" star, given her split from DeGeneres, the hurdles she experienced when her career failed, and her horrifying sexual abuse experience as a child.

While Heche was in a coma before her death, O'Donnell was admittedly "obsessed" with the situation, and she would wake up every morning and remember the then-comatose patient. Shortly after the tragic death, the television producer was told about Heche's podcast episode, created about a year before, where she accused O'Donnell of not allowing her to say anything" gay" on the "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."

The "Star Search" star detailed the video's content revealing that Heche was "in the manic state" or possibly high when she made the claims. She also mentioned that the late movie star alleged that she vowed to ruin her career and "blackball" her if she said anything "gay" on the program.

While watching the video, O'Donnell was shocked and immediately called her nephew, who was in charge of her tapes over the years. She brought out Heche's past interviews from their first meeting, where they did not discuss her relationship with DeGeneres. However, in the second and last interview, they talked about her romance without any anonymity.

O'Donnell believed Heche was confused and admitted her heart broke "a little bit" knowing that the "Donnie Brasco" actress carried around such a notion about her for over two decades.

Before the "Celebrity Detox" author cleared the air about Heche's accusation, the deceased podcast host appeared on "Behind The Velvet Rope" Podcast to discuss sexuality and the support necessary for the LGBTQ community. She also spoke about her podcast episode where she recounted her experience on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," involving her accusation of O'Donnell going into her dressing room and telling her not to talk about DeGeneres or gay love.

Heche believed the 60-year-old was trying to remain "closeted," and she confirmed so, shocking the interviewer. She also pointed out that there were just gay and straight at the time, which naturally caused a "conundrum" and confusion. 

Earlier last month, while Heche was still in a coma, O'Donnell shared a TikTok update about previously mocking the now-dead actress after an awkward interview with Barbara Walters in 2001. As Page Six reported, she admitted that she could not stop thinking about the "Volcano" actress' car accident and "how horrifying the whole thing is," which made her feel bad about her past mockery.

The "SMILF" actress referred to when Heche opened up to Walters about creating a "fantasy world" as an escape while growing up and "having a relationship with space aliens." O'Donnell then said, hinting that the "Return to Paradise" star may have been under the influence, "If we have an honest discussion about drunk driving, we find out just how prevalent it is, and that's terrifying, isn't it?"

While she hoped Heche was okay and survived, she also voiced her belief about it being a miracle that no one was killed during the incident despite how significant the fire was.