EXCLUSIVE: 'The View' 'Rejects Rosie O'Donnell' After Former Host Eyes Return
'The View' has allegedly rejected Rosie O'Donnell as the former host eyes a return to the daytime talk show.
Aug. 27 2026, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Rosie O'Donnell got ahead of the process.
After publicly declaring she'll return for The View's 30th anniversary celebration, insiders on the show said the announcement caught some people at ABC completely off guard because the discussions were never meant to be public, Breaking Celebrity News can reveal.
Rosie’s Announcement Complicates ‘View’ Talks
Rosie O'Donnell announced a possible return to 'The View,' though insiders said nothing has been officially confirmed.
"Nothing has been officially confirmed," one senior television insider told gossip columnist Rob Shuter, who reported the news in his Naughty But Nice Substack.
"There have been conversations, but those conversations were supposed to remain confidential. Rosie's announcing it has complicated things."
O'Donnell's rep confirmed "there was a mention of inviting some of the hosts back to The View," but added, "There has not been a formal ask from the show at this time."
As Breaking Celebrity News has reported, O'Donnell famously left the Hot Topics table on two different occasions, after multiple clashes with the other hosts on the panel – most notably Elisabeth Hasselbeck and current top dog, Whoopi Goldberg.
Rosie Previously Vowed Never Again
Whoopi Goldberg previously clashed with O'Donnell during her time on 'The View.'
"One day on the show [Hasselbeck] kind of threw me under the bus and I was like, 'Are you f------ kidding me?' I finished the show, got my coat, walked out, and said I'm not going back, and I didn't, until a few years later when they asked me to come back and Whoopi was on it, and we clashed in ways that I was shocked by," O'Donnell said during a 2023 appearance on the Now What? With Brooke Shields podcast.
"I know this: It's not the best use of my talent to get in a show where I have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness," O'Donnell, who some critics have labeled a bully, insisted. "It was not something I'd ever do again."
O'Donnell's recent claims about returning were even more shocking considering her ongoing negative comments about her time on the show.
Collins Questions Potential Rosie Return
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Former cohost Michelle Collins questioned why someone who criticized 'The View' would be asked to return.
Former cohost Michelle Collins seemed to question why someone like O'Donnell, who has bashed the experience, would even be asked to return.
Collins said she "never talked s**t" about the show after being "unceremoniously let go" in 2016, and "never went public with anything because I thought that was professional."
Of course, The View could end up welcoming O'Donnell back despite everything – "Think of the ratings," said an insider – but at press time no deal had been struck.
