What Happened With Rosie O'Donnell on 'The View'? Inside Her 2 Dramatic Exits as She Reveals Whether She'd Return

Rosie O'Donnell has a drama-filled history with The View.

The comedian first joined the long-running daytime talk show in 2006, replacing Meredith Vieira. She officially made her debut on the September 5, 2006, episode of the women's chat show and began working alongside Joy Behar, Barbara Walters and Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

"Really excited to be here, and kind of ecstatic," O'Donnell raved at the time.

On May 23, 2007, O'Donnell and Hasselbeck went head-to-head during a heated 10-minute on-air clash over the Iraq War.

"I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying," the Queen of Nice told Hasselbeck, who replied, "Did I say yes?"

O'Donnell lashed out, "You said nothing and that's cowardly."

"No, no, no. Do not call me a coward because I sit here every single day, open my heart and tell people exactly what I believe," Hasselbeck snapped back, with O'Donnell retorting, "So do I."

As the then-co-hosts sparred live, the network decided to use a split-screen, showing the two speaking at the same time during the heated exchange.

O'Donnell ended her hosting duties in mid-June of 2007 following the angry confrontation, OK! reported.

"They wanted me three years, I wanted one year, and it just didn't work," she said ahead of her exit. "I'm not going away. I'm just not going to be here every day."

Coincidentally, at the time, Donald Trump pushed Walters — The View creator — to fire O'Donnell as he predicted, "She will have a huge fight ultimately with Barbara Walters, and she will be fired."

Whoopi Goldberg took on moderator duties in September 2007.

O'Donnell did not step back onto The View stage for nearly seven years.

In February 2014, she returned to the show for the first time — but as a guest.

"I have great affection for Rosie and we have remained in contact throughout the years," Walters shared in a statement. "I am happy to welcome her back to the program. She is always a lively and engaging guest and a part of the show's successful history."

A few months later, ABC tapped O'Donnell to rejoin the program along with Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace following the retirement of Walters and departures of Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd.

In November 2014, sources claimed O'Donnell and Goldberg had a disagreement backstage as they locked horns over how to report on the allegations against Bill Cosby and the turmoil in Ferguson, Mo. The clash allegedly left Perez in tears.

"There's terrible frustration and there are problems," an insider told Daily News. "Whoopi didn't want to talk about Cosby and Ferguson, Rosie (O'Donnell) did — how could you not?"

The insider added, "These are topics that are uncomfortable for everyone, but it's The View and it's their job to talk about topics that might make some people tense."

According to the source familiar with the situation, O'Donnell allegedly "yelled at everyone."

"First, she had a fight with Whoopi and then she had a fight with the producers," a staffer revealed.

A second The View staff member shared, "These are just two very smart women who insist that they need to be able to talk freely about topics that are meaningful."

Nearly five months into her second The View run, the Celebrity Detox author announced her decision to leave the show to focus on her family.

"Rosie is an immensely talented star who comes in each and every morning brimming with ideas, excitement and passion for the show," a spokesperson for the network shared in a statement. "When she told us that she wanted to exit The View, we respected and understood her desire to put her well-being and her family first."

The representative continued, "We're delighted she's still part of the ABC family with upcoming guest appearances on The Fosters. And we know she'll return to The View often with her unique point of view and updates on her work and her family."

During an October 2025 appearance on the "Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel" podcast, O'Donnell contended her 2007 disagreement with Hasselbeck was staged by The View producer.

The stand-up comic alleged, "Our producer [was] not an on-the-fly kind of guy. He wasn't like, Mr. Let's-Go-To-a-Split-Screen.' That was prepared. The whole thing, I think, was a setup."

Hasselbeck responded to her former colleague in a series of since-expired Instagram Stories, asking O'Donnell to "stop the lying."

"And even maybe if you don't stop, I still forgive you. And it can just be so much more free, Rosie, if you can just stop. Stop the madness, stop the lying and just be free," she shared in one post, later adding, "I really hope that you can be released from whatever this is that's causing you to cause such harm."

On the other hand, O'Donnell said she was "full of freedom and joy" despite Hasselbeck's concerns.

"Honey, this wasn't about you or your character. It was about the truth of what happened, from my perspective. That's it," O'Donnell said. "Hate to tell you, I don't really think about you that much until an interviewer asks me."

She added, "It's not like I'm walking around going, 'God, do you think Elisabeth will ever forgive me?' I'm not. So don't worry about me or my freedom or joy, and just enjoy your life, and I'm gonna do the same."

More than a decade after her second tenure ended, O'Donnell spoke frankly about the prospect of returning to The View following Hasselbeck's appearance on the show.

"I did catch her on it, and would I be? I would be up to guest host, but they haven't asked me. So, we'll see what happens, but you know, listen, it's interesting," she shared on the June 18 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

O'Donnell added, "You know, it's interesting in the time of Trump, I think she's the perfect person they want on TV spouting their rhetoric, you know?"

When host Andy Cohen asked whether she was still annoyed by the split-screen use in 2007, she admitted, "Believe me, a mommy knows how to hold a grudge."