Ellen DeGeneres publicly supported Rosie O’Donnell on July 13 after President Donald Trump threatened to revoke the comedian’s United States citizenship, marking a rare political statement from the former talk show host who has maintained a low profile since relocating to England.
DeGeneres posted screenshots on Instagram showing Trump’s Truth Social message and O’Donnell’s response, writing simply “Good for you, @rosie” in the caption. The show of support comes despite a longstanding tension between the two comedians that has persisted for two decades.
Trump initiated the latest exchange on July 12 with a post on his Truth Social platform declaring he was giving serious consideration to taking away O’Donnell’s citizenship. The president labeled the comedian a threat to humanity and suggested she should remain in Ireland, where she has been living since January 15 with her 12-year-old adopted child Clay.
O’Donnell responded hours later on Instagram with multiple posts criticizing Trump. She described herself as everything the president fears, identifying herself as a loud woman, a queer woman, and a mother who tells the truth. In one of her responses, O’Donnell posted a photo of Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and challenged the citizenship threat, declaring she was not his to silence and never had been.
The comedian also characterized Trump as a dangerous, old, soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy and basic humanity. She explained her move to Ireland was motivated by Trump’s presidency, stating she wanted to build a life for her autistic child in a country where decency still exists. O’Donnell indicated she had been in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship through her Irish grandparents.
DeGeneres’ public support represents a significant moment in the complicated relationship between the two television personalities. Their friendship deteriorated in 2004 when DeGeneres appeared on Larry King Live and stated she did not really know O’Donnell well and they were not friends. O’Donnell later revealed the comments hurt her feelings, particularly since she considered them friends in the 1990s and had supported DeGeneres during her coming-out process.
In April, O’Donnell told US Weekly that while they were not in each other’s worlds and things remained awkward, she wished DeGeneres the best. She acknowledged they were very different people who had unresolved issues from the past, though she clarified these were not romantic in nature but related to their roles as friends and comedians.
O’Donnell expressed surprise at DeGeneres’ reported move to England following Trump’s election victory, noting she had never known the former Ellen DeGeneres Show host to make political statements. DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi relocated to the English countryside in November 2024, with reports suggesting the move was motivated by Trump’s electoral success, though the couple has not publicly confirmed this reason.
The current dispute between Trump and O’Donnell stems from their decades-long public feud, which intensified after O’Donnell posted a TikTok video criticizing the Trump administration’s response to devastating floods in central Texas. The video blamed budget cuts to weather-forecasting agencies for the July 4 flooding, prompting Trump’s citizenship threat.
Legal experts note that Trump lacks the constitutional authority to revoke O’Donnell’s citizenship, as the 14th Amendment protects citizenship rights for individuals born on United States soil. The New York native’s citizenship status remains secure under current law, regardless of her acquisition of additional citizenship elsewhere.
O’Donnell has been vocal about her reasons for leaving the United States, stating in March that she would only consider returning when it was safe for all citizens to have equal rights in America. She described the political situation as heartbreaking and personally difficult, while praising the Irish people as loving, kind, and welcoming.
The exchange highlights the ongoing tensions between Trump and prominent critics who have relocated abroad following his return to office. Both DeGeneres and O’Donnell represent high-profile figures who have physically distanced themselves from the United States during Trump’s second term, though they have taken different approaches to public political commentary from their new locations.