Rosie O’Donnell recently opened up about her decision to undergo a facelift at 64, admitting the experience forced her to confront long-held beliefs about aging and feminism.
In another defiant move, the actress shared a before-and-after image, flaunting her new facial transformation.
However, Rosie O’Donnell has now been subjected to cruel mockery online, with many trolling her for the results and others slamming the comedian’s past anti-facelift stance.
Rosie O’Donnell Reflects On Facelift Decision, Admits Mixed Feelings After Years Of Opposing Cosmetic Surgery
O’Donnell opened up about undergoing a facelift, sharing before-and-after photos on Instagram while reflecting on the mixed emotions she has about the experience.
In a personal essay published on Substack, the comedian admitted she initially felt uneasy about the procedure, describing it as something she found “almost shameful” because of the cost and what it represented to her.
She said she has long struggled with the idea of cosmetic surgery, once viewing it as incompatible with her beliefs and even calling it a “betrayal” of feminist values.
Her perspective shifted after she lost about 50 pounds and began noticing changes in her skin that she found difficult to accept.
She recalled trying to reframe it positively as natural aging, but ultimately questioning how far acceptance should go before it starts to feel forced. “There’s a point where acceptance starts to feel like lying,” she penned.
The Comedian Is Facing Brutal Trolling Over Her Facelift Results
On social media, the comments have been very harsh toward O’Donnell, only intensifying after she shared before-and-after images of her facelift procedure.
“I’d be suing whoever claimed to have done that work – all I can detect are the tell-tale signs of Ozempic, with the emaciated buccal fat,” one brutal comment read on X.
“They still haven’t learned a lesson from getting facelifts. It only makes them look worse,” another said, while a third person noted, “It’s a shame it didn’t work.”
Another individual remarked, “I don’t see much of an improvement to be honest,” while a harsh critic wrote, “She should demand a refund bc it didn’t work.”
Amid the mockery, O’Donnell received support from people who commended her for her honesty and facial transformation.
“She looks great, good for her actually,” a supporter said on X.
Rosie O’Donnell Revealed Her Child Clay Struggled With Her Facelift Decision: ‘I Wouldn’t Be Able To Respect You’
O’Donnell also shared a personal family moment that influenced her thinking. Her 13-year-old child, Clay, expressed concern about the surgery, first reassuring her that she had “earned” her wrinkles through life experiences.
Clay’s reaction, she noted, reminded her of her own younger self, someone she described as “more morally rigid” in her beliefs, almost as if that version of her had come back into her home.
She viewed the conversation as a moment of reflection, not just for herself, but also as something her children could learn from about autonomy and self-acceptance.
“I want them to grow up in a world where they don’t feel like they have to change but also know they can, if they want to, without losing moral standing in their own lives,” she explained.
Clay also raised concerns about influence, pointing out that young people who admire her might be affected by her choices.
The conversation became more direct when Clay added that they might struggle to respect her decision if she went ahead with the procedure, a statement O’Donnell said deeply affected her and stayed with her afterward.
The Actress Says No One Noticed Her Facelift After Wanting to Look ‘Less Haunted’
After months of uncertainty, O’Donnell said she ultimately decided to undergo the procedure in January.
She explained that she chose a surgeon she felt comfortable with, someone who had previously worked on people she knew and still managed to preserve their natural appearance.
Her intention, she said, wasn’t to become someone else, but to feel more like herself again, just “less haunted” by her reflection.
Following the surgery, the “Sleepless in Seattle” star described the results as subtle enough that no one around her seemed to notice a change, even close friends or people who might normally comment. She said she now sees herself as “a slightly more well-rested, emotionally stable version” of who she was before.
O’Donnell also reflected on wanting “a limit” going into the procedure, saying she hoped to avoid falling into a cycle of constant adjustments or overcorrection.
Closing her reflections, O’Donnell described this period as the beginning of what she calls her “act 3.”
Rosie O’Donnell Once Said Avoiding Plastic Surgery Helped Her Career Before Revealing Facelift Decision
In past interviews, O’Donnell has been openly critical of cosmetic surgery and said she never felt compelled to pursue it.
Back in a 2021 conversation with Vulture, she reflected on how that choice shaped both her image and her career trajectory.
At the time, the “League of Their Own” star explained that she always anticipated growing into character roles as she aged, rather than altering her appearance.
She explained at the time: “I always knew as an actress that when I got into my 60s, I would be playing the Geraldine Page roles. I wasn’t going to have plastic surgery. I was going to look the way a woman my age should look, and I always thought that would be a blessing in my older age. I would get to play the Colleen Dewhurst roles.”
She later noted that this approach had, in fact, played out as she expected, saying that she began receiving more acting opportunities as she entered her 60s.