Actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who fled the United States and became a citizen of Ireland to escape from President Donald Trump, recently revealed that she would be returning to The View as a co-host for the long-running morning talk show’s 30th season. O’Donnell, who used to be a co-host on the program, confirmed her return to the show on an August 3, 2026 episode of the Tangle With Kyle Ridley podcast.
O’Donnell, 64, said that she plans to participate in the 30th-anniversary special in “whatever way they want” but “just as a guest.” She then added, “They’re bringing back all the hosts, I think. And, you know, I’m pretty proud of that show, what it’s become and how it really speaks to the people and to politics.” Another former host, Michelle Collins, wrote on her Instagram account that she’s “waiting for her call” to participate in the special.
A representative for O’Donnell spoke with Entertainment Weekly to clarify that “there has been no formal ask from the show at this time.” The spokesperson then stated, “There was a mention of inviting some of the hosts back to The View as a guest during season 30. … Nothing has been formalized.” O’Donnell co-hosted the leftist-leaning show for seasons 10 and 18.
Along with an infamous on-air altercation with fellow co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck that led to her first exit from the program in 2007, the comedian was also known for having a “tense” dynamic with Whoopi Goldberg before she left in 2015, according to a report from the New York Post. The A League of Their Own star recalled her time on the program during the podcast.
“I admired Whoopi, wanted to be on her team, had respect for her and I expected we would be like Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan passing the ball back and forth, shooting and leading the team to victory,” she told Ridley. “And that’s not exactly what happened.” She then speculated that Goldberg, 70, “felt encroached upon in some way,” which might be the reason their time co-hosting the program together “didn’t go so well.”
O’Donnell then explained, “I didn’t want it to be awkward and go on there and make it awkward, but I’ve seen Whoopi in the years past … and we’ve gotten past it. We’re grown-ass women. She’s a woman who supports women, as am I.” Later in the podcast, the actress talked about “many, many people [getting] the short end of the stick” as co-hosts.
“It was a factory where people were being churned in and out and [with] their tenuous security, nobody got to be calm,” she said. “It also was a show at the time that was run by a man. A show created by a woman, for women, about women, and the man was deciding what we should talk about,” which she claimed didn’t “sit right” with her.
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When the NY Post reached out to O’Donnell and Goldberg, ABC did not provide an immediate response. O’Donnell also opened up about her time on The View during a 2023 conversation with actress Brooke Shields, stating that being a co-host was not something she would “ever do again,” going on to add, “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.”
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