Rosie O'Donnell Claims On-Air Clash with Elisabeth Hasselbeck Was "a Setup"

In a recent interview, comedian Rosie O'Donnell is claiming that her infamous 2007 on-air argument with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View was "a setup." According to O'Donnell, she had made an effort to befriend Hasselbeck when she joined the show, even going so far as to invite Hasselbeck and her family to her home. However, O'Donnell says that Hasselbeck later turned on her during a heated debate about patriotism, leaving O'Donnell feeling like she was "on a basketball team of five women and one of them kept tripping me on my way to the hoop."

O'Donnell also revealed that she was unaware the argument would be shown in a split-screen format, claiming that the show's producer "wasn't, like, Mr. Let's-go-to-a-split-screen. That was prepared. The whole thing, I think, was a setup." The tension between the two co-hosts had been building for months, and the May 2007 incident was the final straw that led to O'Donnell's departure from The View just two days later.