Rosie O’Donnell will appear on “The View” Friday for the first time since her acrimonious split from the show in 2007, and if ABC’s advance clips are any indication, the former co-host is on her best behavior.
“It feels weird. But good weird,” O’Donnell said about rejoining the ladies on the couch after a brief and tumultuous hosting stint during the 2006-2007 season.
Also read: Rosie O’Donnell Returning to ‘The View’ Following Volatile 2007 Exit
O’Donnell’s early departure followed months of on-air battles with conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck — who is now a host of Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” — and rumored tension with “View” co-host and creator Barbara Walters.
Before getting into the “Hot Topics” segment, O’Donnell quipped: “Is Hasselbeck here? Just checking.”
In the segment, host Sherri Shepherd asked for O’Donnell’s thoughts on the scandal surrounding Woody Allen. The famed director’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow accused him of sexual assault when she was a child in an open letter published by the New York Times this week.
Also read: Woody Allen Asks New York Times to Publish His Response to Dylan Farrow Sex Abuse Claims
“I totally believe her,” O’Donnell said, disclosing, as have most celebrities who have weighed in on the matter, that she is “very good friends” with Dylan’s mother Mia Farrow.
“She’s the best mother I’ve ever seen… I firmly believe Mia, and I firmly believe Dylan.”
O’Donnell’s opinion is directly at odds with that of Walters, who on Monday fiercely defended Allen. After O’Donnell’s statement, Walters responded by saying she disagreed and that Allen is a good man, before moving to the next subject.
“How did I do on that one?” O’Donnell asked the audience whom responded with cheers after the tense debate.
Also read: Rosie O’Donnell Joins Jennifer Lopez’s ‘The Fosters’ in Recurring Role
“That one was tenacious,” O’Donnell said. “It could’ve been bad … I could’ve said something even worse but I was editing.”
O’Donnell also told the ladies that she sometimes misses being a talk show host, where she had the ability to add to the national conversation on a daily basis, but doesn’t miss the backlash when something controversial gets added to that conversation.
The full episode of “The View” airs Friday Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. ET in most markets. Check your local listings.