Rosie O'Donnell, the outspoken 63-year-old comedian, has jetted off to Sydney, Australia, for live performances while openly declaring she’s done with America.
Having relocated to Ireland earlier this year and now performing at the Sydney Opera House, O'Donnell is pursuing Irish citizenship and has no intention of returning to the U.S. amid her long-standing clash with Donald Trump and her disdain for the country’s political direction, as the Daily Mail reports.
This saga kicked off years ago, back in 2006, when O'Donnell aimed at Trump on The View, slamming him for alleged infidelity in his personal life.
Trump didn’t take the jab lightly, firing back in a People interview by calling her "a woman out of control." Well, if control means biting one’s tongue, then perhaps he’s got a point -- but isn’t it rich to hear lectures on restraint from a man who’s never met a controversy he didn’t tweet?
Fast forward to the Republican primary debates, when Trump, pressed on his past remarks about women, quipped, "Only [when it came to] Rosie O'Donnell." Clever dodge, but it’s hard to see how singling out one critic erases a broader pattern of sharp-tongued exchanges.
O'Donnell, never one to let a barb slide, tweeted back, "Try explaining that 2 ur kids." Fair enough, but perhaps she might consider explaining to her own audience why personal spats should override national discourse.
By early this year, O'Donnell had packed her bags for Ireland, describing her move as a "self-imposed exile" driven by America’s political climate. If the land of the free feels so oppressive, one wonders why she didn’t just stay and fight for the change she claims to want.
While in Ireland, she’s been vocal, telling the Daily Telegraph, "What's coming is fascism in the United States." Alarmist much? Hyperbole like this drowns out legitimate policy debates with fear-mongering that helps no one.
She doubled down, saying, "Christian white nationalism, and that's not democracy." Painting broad swaths of Americans with such a charged brush seems more divisive than the forces she claims to oppose.
O'Donnell also revealed to the Daily Telegraph, "I am applying and about to be approved for my Irish citizenship." Tapping into her grandparents’ heritage for a passport is her prerogative, but fleeing one’s homeland over political disagreements feels like a theatrical exit.
She added, "It will be good to have my Irish citizenship, especially since Trump keeps threatening to take away mine." While Trump’s musings on revoking citizenship are eyebrow-raising, let’s be real -- such threats are more rhetorical flourish than legal reality.
During her nearly nine months in Ireland, O'Donnell has kept up the anti-Trump rhetoric, telling MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, "What he's done now hasn't even hit us yet." Vague warnings like this sound more like script lines than substantive critique.
Now, she’s touched down in Sydney for two shows at the iconic Sydney Opera House. It’s a bold move to entertain abroad while bashing her home country -- perhaps she’s hoping for a standing ovation from those who share her disdain.
Back on MSNBC, she lamented, "I don't know, Nicolle, how it is that some people cannot see it."
Maybe the real question is why some see a dystopia where others see a democracy still worth engaging with, flaws and all.
