Rosie O'Donnell Alleges Producer Set Up Her Infamous 'View' Fight with Hasselbeck

The split-screen flickered on live television, capturing Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck shouting over each other for a full 10 minutes. It was May 23, 2007, and a fiery debate about the Iraq War on ‘The View’ was turning into daytime TV history.

Now, Rosie O'Donnell, the comedian and former co-host, is adding a new twist. "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," she said, according to a report by OK! Magazine.

The argument erupted when O’Donnell, who had replaced Meredith Vieira months earlier, blasted Hasselbeck for her stance on the war. "That's cowardly," O’Donnell told her co-host. Hasselbeck fired back, "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." The network’s use of a split-screen to show both women speaking simultaneously became an iconic visual of the clash.

The Aftermath

O’Donnell announced her departure from the show in mid-June 2007. "They wanted me three years, I wanted one year, and it just didn't work," she said at the time, adding, "I'm not going away. I'm just not going to be here every day." Whoopi Goldberg took over as moderator in September 2007. O’Donnell briefly returned to the panel in September 2014 but exited again a few months later. A network spokesperson praised O’Donnell at the time, saying, "Rosie is an immensely talented star who comes in each and every morning brimming with ideas, excitement and passion for the show. 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," according to OK! Magazine.

The allegation reframes one of TV’s most memorable feuds not as a spontaneous clash, but as a potential production stunt.

Sources

• What Happened Between Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck? Inside Their Infamous 2007 — OK! Magazine