Elisabeth Hasselbeck tearfully hits back at Rosie O’Donnell for saying their notorious The View fight was a ‘setup’

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Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who used to be a host on The View, has responded with strong emotion to comments made by her former co-host, Rosie O’Donnell. O’Donnell suggested that their well-known, heated argument on the show back in 2007 was actually planned by producers.

On Thursday, the 48-year-old TV star responded to a comment made by the 63-year-old comedian, using a post on her Instagram Stories, which has since disappeared.

Rosie O’Donnell recently told radio hosts Ricki Lee and Tim Joel that a heated argument she had with Elisabeth Hasselbeck on *The View* in 2007 was supposedly planned by the show’s producers.

Rosie O’Donnell, who recently announced she’s seeking citizenship in another country, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, known for her conservative views on *The View* and her early fame on *Survivor* in 2001, had a heated disagreement on television about the Iraq War.

Bill Geddie, the producer of The View at the time, was known for detailed planning, according to O’Donnell. He wouldn’t have allowed that surprisingly staged segment to happen without careful preparation. Geddie passed away in 2023 at age 68.

According to O’Donnell, the segment wasn’t improvised. Our producer doesn’t do things spontaneously – he doesn’t just suddenly decide to use techniques like split-screen. Everything was planned in advance, and she believes the entire thing was staged.

Hasselbeck responded to O’Donnell with an emotional post on social media, asking her to stop spreading false information, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Hasselbeck continued: ‘And even maybe if you don’t stop, I still forgive you.

You could be so much happier, Rosie, if you just stopped. Stop all the chaos and dishonesty, and allow yourself to be free.

The reality star later added that they sincerely hoped the person causing harm could find a way to resolve whatever was troubling them.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Rosie O’Donnell but hasn’t received a response. Those representing The View also declined to comment.

The disagreement between O’Donnell and Hasselbeck brought up something the comedian had said previously.

During a 2007 episode of The View, Joy Behar asked a provocative question: “With 655,000 Iraqi civilians killed, who are the terrorists?” She then posed a hypothetical: “If the U.S., the wealthiest nation in the world, invaded your country and killed that many of your people, what would you call us?”

O’Donnell’s use of the word ‘terrorists’ immediately drew criticism from commentators across the political spectrum, but she defended her statement, claiming her words were being misinterpreted.

During the May 23rd episode of The View, Rosie O’Donnell criticized her co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck for not speaking up in her defense publicly.

Can you BELIEVE she even *asked* if I thought our soldiers were terrorists? Like, seriously? She turned to Hasselbeck, right there in front of everyone, and actually said those words! I was floored. It was just… unbelievable. I mean, how could she even *think* that, let alone ask it?!

Hasselbeck didn’t think O’Donnell actually believed the military included terrorists, but she challenged her to stand by the implications of her statements.

During a disagreement, O’Donnell attempted to emphasize her friendly relationship with Hasselbeck while also criticizing her for not defending her. Hasselbeck responded by stating she wouldn’t take responsibility for clarifying O’Donnell’s opinions, asserting that they were O’Donnell’s own to express.

Co-hosts Joy Behar and Sherri Shepherd tried to tone down the argument, to no avail.

In a recent interview, O’Donnell shared that she was upset by how Hasselbeck acted both off-camera and during their televised disagreement, especially because she believed they had become good friends.

O’Donnell expressed disbelief at this woman’s behavior, considering everything he’d done for her. He explained that when he started the job, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t become her adversary, and would treat her as an individual, not an enemy.

She visited my home, used my pool, and even brought her child. I took her child to see Sesame Street Live and also to her first Broadway show. She said she really went above and beyond to help this woman.

Rosie O’Donnell’s time on The View was briefer than that of some of her colleagues. She first joined the show as its host in 2006 and 2007, and later returned for another season from 2014 to 2015.

Hasselbeck remained on the series for a decade, from 2003 to 2013.

But ever after the two women were done with The View, they continued to feud in the public eye.

In a 2019 interview with Ramin Setoodeh for his book *Ladies Who Punch*, O’Donnell revealed she had a brief attraction to Hasselbeck, but clarified it wasn’t romantic or sexual.

She claimed that Hasselbeck’s experience as a softball team captain at Boston College hinted at lesbianism.

O’Donnell went on to say that, from her experience, it’s rare to find girls with exceptional athletic ability competing in traditionally male sports who don’t identify as at least somewhat LGBTQ+.

Hasselbeck later told Fox & Friends that she found O’Donnell’s remarks ‘offensive and upsetting’.

Honestly, I was really disappointed by her comments. It felt like she was falling back on harmful stereotypes about female athletes, specifically suggesting there’s something ‘off’ about them. That’s not only unfair – it perpetuates a really damaging idea and frankly, it’s just not true. It feels incredibly insensitive to imply something like that and doesn’t reflect the diversity and individuality within any group of people, including athletes.

On X, formerly Twitter, O’Donnell responded by saying she remembered a time before things fell apart, insisting she never treated him disrespectfully. She acknowledged she once thought he was wonderful, recalling times they spent together – attending Broadway shows and hanging out by her pool – and said they were once friends. She ended with a fond, ‘God love you.’

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2025-10-11 00:04