Rosie O’Donnell, whose career has spanned more than four decades, packed her bags and left the USA days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, which was held in Washington DC
Award-winning comedian Rosie O’Donnell isn’t laughing now.
For the TV star has become so annoyed with Donald Trump, she has left the USA for a new life in Ireland, more than 3,000 miles away. The 62-year-old comedian told fans the development in a nine-minute video she posted on social media.
The actress, born in New York, says: “When it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back… I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are.”
O’Donnell praised the “kind” people of Ireland in the footage. She adds: “It’s been pretty wonderful, I have to say. The people are so loving and so kind, so welcoming. And I’m very grateful.”
The star, who had her own daytime talk programme, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, between 1996 and 2002, has been a vocal President Trump critic over the years. They had an infamous spat on X, then called Twitter, during Mr Trump’s first presidency.
And the Republican’s return has proved too much for O’Donnell, who began her comedy career as a teenager in 1979. In the video, the mum of five continues: “It’s been heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically and hard for me personally as well. The personal is political, as we all know.”
She confirms, in the clip, she is in Ireland with her 12-year-old daughter but her other children are understood to still be in the US. They are all older than school age. O’Donnell says: “Sorry for those of you who were worried and who missed me. I just felt like we needed to take care of ourselves and make some hard decisions and follow through.”
O’Donnell’s big move follows that of Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Gere, who left the US for a new life in Madrid, Spain. The 75-year-old star, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, upped sticks recently to, in part, be closer to his wife’s in-laws, according to Vanity Fair.
Gere, who was in Chicago and Pretty Woman, told the outlet he felt it would be a “great adventure” to relocate with wife Alejandra Silva, 42, and their sons Alexander, five, and James, four, “because I have never lived full-time outside of the United States.”
