Rosie O’Donnell claims fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck on ‘The View’ was ‘setup’ by producers

Rosie O’Donnell claims her blowout fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck on “The View” in 2007 was a “setup.”

The comedian reflected on the shocking TV moment in a new interview on the “Ricki-Lee, Tim Joel” radio show, recalling how late producer Bill Geddie was not one to be caught off guard on live television.

“Our producer is not an on-the-fly kind of guy, he wasn’t mister like, ‘Let’s go to the split-screen.’ That was prepared,” O’Donnell alleged. “So, the whole thing, I think, was a setup.”

Page Six reached out to reps for ABC, “The View” and Hasselbeck for comment, but has not heard back.

The moment O’Donnell was referencing took place on May 23, 2007, when the “View” co-hosts were in the middle of a heated debate about America’s involvement in the Iraq war.

O’Donnell, now 63, called out Hasselbeck, now 48, during the segment for not defending her when the media accused the “Rosie O’Donnell Show” alum of calling US troops “terrorists.”

“You are an adult and I am certainly not going to be the person for you to explain your thoughts; they’re your thoughts!” Hasselbeck shouted back, as the screen split to show them side-by-side.

O’Donnell added on the recent radio show that the dispute struck a nerve because she believed that she and Hasselbeck had a genuine friendship off-camera at the time.

“I can not believe that this woman, after all I did for her, because when I took that job, I made one commitment to myself, that I was not going to be her enemy, that I was going to meet her as a person,” the “Rosie Show” alum explained.

“She came to my house, she was in my pool, she brought her little kid, I took her kid to ‘Sesame Street Live,’ I took her to her first Broadway opening,” adding she “bent over backwards for this woman.”

O’Donnell and Hasselbeck’s feud continued after they left “The View” in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

O’Donnell disclosed to journalist Ramin Setoodeh, who then shared it in his book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View‘,” that she once had “a little bit of a crush” on Hasselbeck but not in a “sexual way,” and that the latter’s softball past had “underlying lesbian undertones.”

Hasselbeck called the confession “offensive and disturbing,” adding, “I think her casting a stereotype on female athletes in what she said … and that all female athletes are a little bit gay … That’s an unfair stereotype and it seems selfish in a way and I think that it’s untrue.” 

O’Donnell then responded to the Conservative pundit via X (formerly Twitter), writing, “surely u recall b4 it all went wrong – i never objectified u – i did find u fantastic – broadway shows – my pool -we were friends once ❤️ god love ya kid – i always did.”