Scroll To Top
Women

Rosie O'Donnell: Honest and Heartbreaking in This Interview About Trump

Rosie

The out comedian and actress spoke candidly to W about the bully-in-chief: "He was allowed with impunity to brutally assault me and my character for a decade."

Nbroverman

Can you imagine if the man who demeaned you for a decade was elevated to the biggest job in the world? That was the case for Rosie O'Donnell, who watched with horror as Donald Trump won the Electoral College nearly a year ago.

Speaking to W magazine, O'Donnell spoke candidly about her emotional state, as well as her new acting job on the Showtime series SMILF. Horribly, O'Donnell had to shoot the SMILF pilot on November 9, the day after the election. Filming was so difficult that O'Donnell asked to do reshoots, which she later taped.

"[Trump's electoral college victory] was a severe shock to my entire essence and my beliefs in the order in the world, and also the PTSD of having been an abused kid in a family," O'Donnell said. "And to think that the man who had abused me so viciously and with impunity for over a decade was now running the country."

Trump's election was upsetting for the majority of the nation who didn't vote for him, but especially for O'Donnell who has been called a litany of names by the businessman/politician, and even became fodder for one of the presidential debates.

(RELATED: Trump Believes His Decade of Bullying Rosie O'Donnell Is Justified)

"It happened to me in a personal manner," O'Donnell told W. "Because unbeknownst to me, for reasons I can't really still figure out, he was allowed with impunity to brutally assault me and my character for a decade. No one--not the National Organization For Women, not Gloria Steinem, no one--stood up and said, 'What the hell are you doing?' It was laughed about."

O'Donnell points out that she's not the only victim of Trump; everyone from Megyn Kelly to Representative Frederica Wilson to war widow Myeshia Johnson have been on the receiving end of his attacks and accusations.

O'Donnell said she remains "devastated, disappointed, disheartened, and depressed" by Trump's rise to power, but said she is no longer in "panic mode." Sounds familiar. Read the full interview here.

Nbroverman
Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.