Fellow ex-pats Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres haven’t been in touch since they independently decided to move to the UK after President Trump’s election.
“We’re not really in each other’s worlds, and it’s been kind of awkward but you know what? I wish her the best,” O’Donnell said of DeGeneres in an interview with Us Weekly.
She added, “I wish that she has peace and love in her life and that she is OK.”
O’Donnell, 63, also admitted she was shocked that the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” alum, 67, had left the United States over Trump’s second term.
“I’ve never really known Ellen to say anything political in her life, so I was surprised to read that she left because of President Trump. Like, that shocked me, actually,” she said.
Reversely, DeGeneres said she has been a “political person” her entire life.
“Not better or worse, it’s just a different way to be in the world,” she said. “I was very clear about the reason why I was leaving, and I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone.”
Despite their difference, the “Now And Then” actress said she has no “malice” toward DeGeneres.
“I don’t want to fight against another gay woman. It’s not like we’re tenaciously opposed to each other. We’re just very different people,” she said.
O’Donnell suggested to the outlet that she and the former talk show host had a falling out after being pals in the comedy industry.
“We have had some stuff in the past that we never resolved. And not in any way as partners or lovers or anything like that, just as friends and comedians, but I wish her the best. I seriously do,” she said.
She furthered, “Gay people are the next group to be threatened. And the way they attack trans people is absolutely terrifying.
“If people don’t understand that they’re a vital part of the LBGTQIA+ community, that’s tragic because we protect our own, especially the most vulnerable.”
Five days before Trump was sworn into office, O’Donnell moved to Ireland to keep her non-binary child, 12-year-old Clay, safe.
“I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are,” she said at the time.
“You know, I’m happy. Clay is happy. I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back,” she further told Us Weekly.
O’Donnell, whose grandparents were born in Ireland, is currently in the process of gaining her Irish citizenship.
Last month, the “A League of Their Own” star revealed that she feels “safer” and has less anxiety after fleeing the country.
Similarly, DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, settled into a small hamlet about two hours outside London after Trump beat former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.
Sources told TMZ last November that the couple decided to “get the hell out” of the country as they were feeling “very disillusioned” over the news of Trump’s victory.
DeGeneres and de Rossi, 52, allegedly purchased the property prior to the 2024 election.
