Rosie O'Donnell Weighs In on Ellen DeGeneres, Says She Has 'Compassion' for Her

Rosie O’Donnell, who hosted her own talk show from 1996-2002, is speaking out on Ellen DeGeneres‘ situation after she and her producers were accused of workplace toxicity.

“You can’t fake your essence,” Rosie said on Busy Philipps‘ podcast “Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best.”

“That’s why I have compassion for Ellen [DeGeneres], right?” she said. “I have compassion, even though, you know, I hear the stories and I understand. I think she has some social awkwardness.”

“You know how Ellen surprises everyone?” she said, “I’ve never done that show because I’m terrified she’s going to scare me and give me a heart attack.”

Rosie also spoke on what it is actually like hosting a talk show.

“[Hosting] wasn’t like anything close to real life,” she said. “You know, you get mass adulation from the multitudes every day like a shot of heroin in your arm. You get people clapping at your very existence and then telling you how you altered their life, and it’s a lot to take in. And when I stepped away, I knew that this was all I could take.”

If you missed it, Rosie recently told this celebrity to take his meds.