Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out 'The View' Producers For Orchestrating 2007 Explosive Fight

Rosie O'Donnell suspects there was more to her highly publicized feud with former "The View" panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

The comedian and the wife of NFL star Tim Hasselbeck clashed during a 2007 episode of the ABC daytime talk show. Their differences went beyond the screen, with the woman throwing jabs at each other on social media.

Over a decade later, Rosie O'Donnell still feels hurt about Elisabeth Hasselbeck's actions. She saw the TV personality's criticism as a betrayal because she once considered Hasselbeck a close friend and allowed her into her world.

O'Donnell addressed her past issues with Hasselbeck on a recent appearance on the "Ricki-Lee, Tim Joel" radio show. A snippet of the interview was shared on the program's TikTok page, capturing her candid recollection of what transpired on the ABC talk show in 2007.

The Daytime Emmy Award winner noted that she suspected her explosive showdown with Hasselbeck was intentional, saying: "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."

O'Donnell's suspicions increased when showrunners were quick to set up a split screen that focused on her and Hasselbeck. She stressed that she had no idea it was happening, noting late producer Bill Geddie was not the type to allow surprises on TV.

"Our producer is not an on-the-fly kind of guy. He wasn't like, 'Mr. Let's go to a split screen.' That was prepared," O'Donnell claimed.

Besides suspecting that her feud with Hasselbeck was orchestrated, O'Donnell was disappointed by the latter's behavior. She implied her former co-star's actions had hurt her because she believed they had a genuine relationship outside TV.

O'Donnell confessed that she was shocked Hasselbeck had attacked her on national TV about whether or not she was patriotic after she went the extra mile for her. She claimed the media personality spent time at her house, swam in her pool, and even visited with her child.

"I took her kid to 'Sesame Street Live,' I took her to her first Broadway opening, like I bent over backwards for this woman," O'Donnell recalled. She noted that when she agreed to star on "The View," she had vowed not to be Hasselbeck's enemy and "meet her as a person."

O'Donnell's reflection on what happened between her and Hasselbeck had fans divided in the comments. Some supported the older entertainer, believing she was right, while others slammed O'Donnell for allegedly having a victim mentality.

"Any story of Elizabeth Hasselbeck being a bad person is not surprising. She was always insincere and never came across as warm or caring," an O'Donnell supporter claimed. Another agreed, implying Hasselbeck wasn't relevant because they had to Google her name.

On the other hand, critics believed O'Donnell should move on. "Team Elizabeth. Rosie couldn't take a little debate and took it personally," someone declared. A fellow Hasselbeck supporter echoed similar sentiments, writing: "Why is Rosie always the victim? Sounds like a Democratic problem to me."

The feud between Hasselbeck and O'Donnell went down on national TV on May 23, 2007. The confrontation started after one of the program's panelists, Joy Behar, brought up the Iraq War, and Hasselbeck used the word "enemies" to describe the situation.

The term did not sit right with O'Donnell, who called out Hasselbeck for implying the entirety of Iraq was the US enemy. "Did Iraq attack us?" she quipped, causing Hasselbeck to hurriedly clarify that she meant "Al-Qaeda."

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done as the women began bickering over their differences.

The NY Post noted that O'Donnell initially did not want to argue with Hasselbeck because she knew the media would paint her as the villain. Still, emotions ran high, and she quit after the controversial episode.

Although O'Donnell did not have the best exit from "The View," the bad experience did not stop her from defending the show after Donald Trump threatened to end the program. She addressed the situation in a lengthy rant, emphasizing that free speech was under threat.

"This isn't about bias – This is about obedience. This is about removing any program that doesn't align with Trumpism," O'Donnell said about the president's threats. She claimed he was hellbent on controlling people, describing his administration as "a dictatorship with good lighting."

The White House threatened to pull the plug on the ABC talk show after panelist Behar alleged that Trump was envious of Barack Obama and his successful presidency. Deadline reported that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr echoed similar threats, noting there would be "consequences" for the talk show.

Will Elisabeth Hasselbeck respond to Rosie O'Donnell's claims about their feud?