Rosie O’Donnell gearing up for new comedy special to compete with longtime rival Ellen DeGeneres
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rosie O’Donnell has been setting her sights on having one up on her longtime rival Ellen DeGeneres with a new comedy special.
Speaking to an outlet, a source recently shared that the gloves are really off as O’Donnell, 62, has “fully written and test-performed” a new comedy special script to take on the embattled Queen of Daytime TV.
The source claimed that, unlike her competitor’s latest comedy special, the former ‘The View’ host’s script is “funny” and that she “doesn’t come across as bitter or defensive.”
Rosie O’Donnell is making a comeback with a comedy special
An insider recently shared to In Touch Weekly, “Rosie has fully written and test-performed a new hour-long stand-up set, and she’s going to put it to film in the coming months,” before referencing DeGeneres’ latest venture, “I guess the headline is that it’s a lot like Ellen’s special, except it’s funny!”
Last year, the ‘Ellen’ star attempted a comeback to the industry after receiving backlash following allegations of creating a toxic workplace on the sets of her ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, which ended in 2022.
Though she returned with the comedy special ‘For Your Approval’ on Netflix following a limited-date tour, it received a lukewarm response.
While DeGeneres allegedly did not receive the reaction she was expecting from the audience, the source shared O’Donnell is “going to get a warm welcome from fans.”
The insider explained, “Rosie still has a swagger and still has real comedy chops, and thankfully, in her new material she doesn’t come across as bitter or defensive. She’s just trying to make people laugh and she’s doing it by being herself.”
However, the ‘A League of Their Own’ star “doesn’t have a streaming deal for this material just yet” as she’s “just starting that step of the process.”
Nevertheless, the insider added that O’Donnell’s “voice is needed in stand-up, and unlike Ellen, she’s going to get a warm welcome from fans.”
Nevertheless, drawing a direct comparison between the popularity of the two comedians, the insider concluded, “The bottom line is Rosie has more friends than Ellen does, and people are really rooting for Rosie as she finally gets back to her standup roots!”
Inside Rosie O’Donnell’s decades-long feud with Ellen DeGeneres
The bad blood between Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres has not brewed overnight as the ‘Now and Then’ star detailed their falling out during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2023.
She shared that the animosity between them was not always there, and at one point they were even friends.
“It was a good relationship. We were friends. We supported each other,” shared O’Donnell, before recalling, “She came out first on my show [The Rosie O’Donnell Show], remember? She came on and my show was live.”
Though their paths diverged after finding success, O’Donnell shared that they remained friends. However, she said that she was heartbroken when DeGeneres claimed otherwise during an appearance at ‘Larry King Live’ in 2004.
The comedian continued in her interview, “Larry King said, ‘Whatever happened to Rosie O’Donnell’s show? She went down the tubes as soon as she came out'. And the quote that Ellen said was, ‘I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends'. I was watching TV in bed with my wife going, ‘Did she just say that?'”
“It would never occur to me to say, ‘I don’t know her', about somebody whose babies I held when they were born. It wouldn’t be in my lexicon of choices to ever say,” continued O’Donnell.
Nevertheless, O’Donnell shared that in 2023, things changed a little when DeGeneres texted her in the same year.
The ‘Exit to Eden’ star continued, “She texted me a few weeks ago checking in, seeing how I’m doing, and I asked her how she’s surviving not being on TV," per BuzzFeed.
“It’s a big transition. But we’ve had our weirdness in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition, or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt my feelings,” continued the comedian.
O’Donnell went on to reveal the content of DeGeneres’ text, saying, “She wrote, ‘I’m really sorry and I don’t remember that.’”
“I guess she saw me talk about it on Andy Cohen’s show. I remembered it so well, I had T-shirts printed and I gave them to my staff that said,’“I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends,” explained the former talk show host and mused, “I have a picture of her holding [my then-infant son] Parker. I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room. I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world.”
DeGeneres has yet to speak on the purported feud.
