NEWSRosie O’Donnell Revives Elisabeth Hasselbeck Feud After 'CBS Mornings' Guest Host News
Rosie O'Donnell reacted with disbelief to Elisabeth Hasselbeck's CBS guest hosting.
June 19 2026, Published 6:35 a.m. ET
Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck have not shared The View table in years, but one CBS booking was enough to bring their old feud roaring back.
O’Donnell reacted with disbelief after learning on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show “Andy Cohen Live” on June 16 that Hasselbeck had been tapped to guest host CBS Mornings for a week, covering entertainment and pop culture.
“Are you kidding me?” O’Donnell asked.
The Feud That Still Has a Pulse
The former ‘The View’ co-stars' feud resurfaced after the announcement.
O’Donnell and Hasselbeck’s tension dates back to their time together on The View, where a 2007 argument over O’Donnell’s criticism of George W. Bush’s handling of war became one of the show’s defining blowups.
“Every day since September I have told you that I support the troops,” O’Donnell said during the original exchange. “I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying. You said nothing, and that’s cowardly.”
Brand and communications consultant Sam Gauchier said the reason the rivalry still gets attention is not just the fight itself.
“What audiences are actually engaging with is a shared cultural memory,” Gauchier said. “Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s clashes happened during one of the last periods of truly appointment-view television. In today’s fragmented media environment, there are fewer moments that everyone experienced together.”
Why CBS Got a News Cycle
Rosie O'Donnell linked the booking to the network's changing political environment.
O’Donnell tied Hasselbeck’s CBS role to the network’s shifting political environment, saying, “Well, in the Trump universe, she’s somebody who they would herald as–”
When Cohen suggested Hasselbeck would be “an approved guest,” O’Donnell answered, “Correct. She would be an approved guest for the Ellison debacle at CBS after they did exactly what Stephen Colbert said they did.”
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The rivalry gained renewed attention across social media.
Amore Philip, founder of Apples and Oranges Public Relations, said booking Hasselbeck gave CBS Mornings more attention than a typical booking ever could.
“The smartest morning show producers understand that in 2026 the promo is the content,” she noted. “They are betting that the conversation the booking generates before the segment airs is worth more than whatever happens on camera. And in this case they were right. Rosie's reaction gave CBS Mornings more coverage than any standard guest booking would have generated in a month.”
Old TV, New Algorithm
CBS Mornings received publicity from Rosie O'Donnell's reaction.
The feud has resurfaced before. Last year, Hasselbeck said on Fox News that the original argument was a setup, which O’Donnell denied.
“I don’t really think about you that much until an interviewer asks me,” O’Donnell said then.
“In many ways, the feud isn’t the product. The audience’s memory of the feud is the product,” Gauchier suggested. “What’s fascinating is that audiences often say they’re tired of conflict, yet some of the most successful media moments are built around familiar disagreements. I think that’s because people aren’t necessarily seeking arguments, they’re seeking context. Legacy rivalries give audiences a familiar framework for understanding larger cultural conversations happening today.”
