Rosie O’Donnell, the outspoken American comedian and former television host, says she has no regrets about leaving the United States after President Donald Trump returned to office, claiming the country has become “scary” and deeply broken.
O’Donnell made the remarks during an appearance on Chris Cuomo’s SiriusXM program on Friday, where she defended her decision to relocate to Ireland. According to O’Donnell, the move was necessary to protect herself, her child, and her mental well-being.
“I did what I needed to do to save myself, my child and my sanity,” she said, adding that she left the U.S. in January of last year with her 12-year-old child because she believed it was the best decision for her family.
Despite publicly portraying her departure as permanent, O’Donnell admitted she recently returned to the United States for a brief visit. She said she quietly traveled back to New York to see her family and to test how difficult it would be to enter and exit the country.
“I wanted to see how hard it would be for me to get in and out of the country,” said the former host of The View. “I was in New York for the last two weeks, and I have to tell you, it feels like a very different country, a very different place to me.”
O’Donnell also claimed that life in Ireland is more balanced and less obsessed with fame, contrasting it with what she described as America’s culture of celebrity worship and constant political tension.
“I’ve been in a place where celebrity worship does not exist,” she said. “There’s more balance to the news. There’s more balance to life. It’s not everyone trying to get more, more, more. It’s a very different culture.”
Critics, however, note that O’Donnell’s perception of the U.S. is shaped largely by elite urban and Hollywood environments, and that much of the country does not share the same obsession with celebrity culture found in Los Angeles or New York.
Regardless, O’Donnell insisted she stands by her decision.
“I don’t regret leaving at all,” she told Cuomo. “The energy that I felt while in the United States was scary. There’s a feeling that something is really wrong and no one is doing anything about it.”
O’Donnell has spent years launching personal and political attacks against Trump across social media platforms, interviews, and public appearances. Her move abroad appears to be the latest chapter in her long-running feud with the former and current president.
