In an ironic twist, liberal Hollywood celebrity Rosie O’Donnell’s attempt to flee the United States could ultimately end in her deportation from her would-be adopted country.
O’Donnell revealed that her move to Ireland following President Donald Trump’s election victory may be in jeopardy after her Irish citizenship application is still unapproved.
O’Donnell expressed concern about the ongoing application process in a recent interview with The New York Times. She admitted she was surprised by the election outcome in 2024, which was Trump return to the Oval Office after a landslide election win over former Vice President Kamala Harris, and decided to leave the U.S. and move abroad.
“I never thought he would win again,” she told the Times. “But I said, ‘If he does, I’m going to move,’ and my therapist said, ‘Well, let’s make a real plan.'”
But the 62-year-old comedian, who fled to Ireland with her 12-year-old child Clay as Trump took office for his second term, was hesitant to discuss her citizenship status with reporters.
Despite being a multimillionaire, O’Donnell revealed that her application for Irish citizenship, based on her grandparents being from Ireland, remains pending. If denied, O’Donnell could be forced to return to the United States when her visa expires.
“It’s not easy to move to another country, and we really felt as a family this was the safest and best thing for us to do,” O’Donnell said in a March 20 TikTok video.
O’Donnell cited her long-running feud with Trump, which began in 2006 during her time as a co-host on “The View,” as a significant factor in her decision to move abroad.
“I feel healthier, I’m sleeping better without the stress and anxiety over what was happening politically in the country,” she said. “I knew that it would really tax me emotionally to have to do that,” she added, referring to living in the U.S. during Trump’s presidency.
The comedian’s move became the subject of discussion during Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin’s White House visit on March 12. During the meeting, a reporter asked Martin, “Why in the world would you let Rosie O’Donnell move to Ireland? I think she is going to lower your happiness.”
That prompted Trump to ask Martin, “Did you know you have Rosie O’Donnell? Do you know who she is?”
When the Prime Minister hesitated, Trump added, “You’re better off not knowing,” eliciting laughter from the press.
O’Donnell later addressed the exchange during an appearance on Ireland’s “Late Late Show,” saying she felt “very troubled” by the incident. “I wrote the taoiseach [prime minister] with a little note of apology to his email and got a note back that they had received it and thanked me,” she said. “I just wanted him to know the history and what happened and why he seems to be out to get me in ways that are startling to most.”
O’Donnell said she has missed the family in the United States that she left behind.
“I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home,” she said, adding that she would consider returning to the United States “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there.”
In the same New York Times interview, O’Donnell also discussed her surprising relationship with murderer Lyle Menendez, who along with his brother Erik is serving a life sentence without parole for the cold blooded killing of their parents in 1989.
“He started calling me on a regular basis from the tablet phone thing they have,” O’Donnell said. “He would tell me about his life, what he’s been doing in prison and, for the first time in my life, I felt safe enough to trust and be vulnerable and love a straight man.”
She had previously described herself as feeling like “a big sister” to the Menendez brothers.