Rosie O'Donnell Calls Elisabeth Hasselbeck 'Most Problematic' Co-Host — 19 Years After On-Air Spat
Rosie O'Donnell reflected on her time on 'The View' with Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
July 27 2026, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Rosie O'Donnell reflected on the explosive end to her friendship with former The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck nearly 20 years after their shocking on-air spat, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The comic, 64, who had a 1-year stint on the morning show from 2006 to 2007, got candid when she was asked directly who her "least favorite co-host" was during her time on The View.
'That Was the Most Problematic'
Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck famously got into an on-air spat over the war in Iraq.
"Listen, it's known that me and Elisabeth Hasselbeck did not have a great ending to our friendship, so I would say that was the most problematic, perhaps," she told People. "But we did get along right up until the end, and then it blew up on national TV."
The pair famously got into a tense argument over the war in Iraq back in 2007. Despite the messy situation, O'Donnell admitted that she still sometimes goes back to the episode and watches it play out again.
"If the Elisabeth Hasselbeck fight is on, I’m like, ‘Let me try to remember what this felt like.’ You know?" she added.
Rosie O'Donnell Reveals If She'll Ever Come Back to 'The View'
Rosie O'Donnell said she'd consider returning to 'The View' as a guest.
As for her favorite co-host, O'Donnell gave the honor to 83-year-old comedian Joy Behar.
When she was asked if she'd ever consider returning to The View, O'Donnell didn't immediately shut the idea down.
"Next season is the 30th anniversary and Ana Navarro mentioned that when I did her podcast recently. I think that I would, and just be a guest," she explained. "I do think that, for me, it’s not the best use of my time or talent to be arguing about politics with people, just in general, as a form of entertainment. It’s not where I shine the most."
Elisabeth Hasselbeck Speaks Out on Fight
Elisabeth Hasselbeck called it was 'stressful day' on set.
This comes months after Hasselbeck also spoke out on the heated on-air argument, admitting that it's not her favorite memory.
"It was a stressful day. It's not a day that I love," she said on The View's companion podcast, Behind the Table. "It's a significant day because I can look back at it now with maturity and think my position would be the same."
While she confessed that she could have made an effort to be more "physically calm," she claimed that support of the U.S. military was a "passionate" issue for her.
"I think that I'm proud to have spoken on behalf of the military, and I'm proud that this is a program that allowed, um, even that passion to be shared," she concluded.
Rosie O'Donnell Believes Argument Was a 'Set-up'
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Rosie O'Donnell suggested the argument may have been set up by producers.
But O'Donnell has her own theories on how the famed moment made it to air, especially considering that both she and Hasselbeck were shown on a split screen during the argument.
"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," she claimed during an October 2025 appearance on Australian radio show Ricki-Lee, Tim Joel. "The whole thing, I think, was a setup."
