Former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell revealed she remains close friends with country music star Wynonna Judd despite Judd's support for President Donald Trump.
Speaking on Wednesday's episode of the podcast The Tangle with Kyle Ridley, the 64-year-old comedian said Judd is the sole exception among her personal acquaintances who back the Republican leader.
O'Donnell explained that she and Judd have known each other for many years and intentionally avoid political topics during their conversations.
"Now, I am friends with Wynonna Judd, who I love very much, and I've known her for many, many years and she is a supporter of Trump," O'Donnell said during the interview. "And somehow, we never bring it up."
The former television host admitted that having Trump supporters in her personal life is generally difficult for her, saying she does not really have anyone else in her life who supports him and believes it would be very difficult to do so. However, she extends special understanding toward the country music star.
"I kind of give her a grace in a way," O'Donnell said. "She's had so much in her life with her mom taking her own life, just the complicated nature of her upbringing, and I really love her and I care about her and for some reason I'm able to put that aside when we interact."
O'Donnell added: "But aside from Wy, I can't think of anyone else in my life who supports him and I don't understand the people who do."
Wynonna Judd Political Background
Wynonna Judd, 62, rose to fame alongside her mother Naomi Judd in the country music duo The Judds during the 1980s. While she has not publicly declared her political preferences, Judd visited the White House in 2019 during Trump's first term to advocate for criminal justice reform and discuss prison reintegration initiatives.
In 2017, Judd publicly distanced herself from the vocal anti-Trump stance of her sister, actress Ashley Judd. Ashley Judd had gained national attention by reciting a scorching anti-Trump poem titled I Am A Nasty Woman, written by 19-year-old Nina Donovan, at the Women's March on Washington.
Following her sister's high-profile appearance at the demonstration, Wynonna Judd posted a brief message on social media clarifying her stance: "I am not my sister’s keeper. The end."
Feud With Donald Trump
O'Donnell's willingness to maintain her friendship with Judd comes despite her own notorious, long-running feud with President Donald Trump. Their public conflict began in 2006 when O'Donnell was a co-host on the daytime talk show The View.
During a broadcast, O'Donnell criticized Trump, who was then starring on the reality television show The Apprentice, after he threatened to strip Tara Conner of her Miss USA title following public controversies involving underage drinking and cocaine use.
O'Donnell called Trump a hypocrite because of his own marital upheavals and questioned how he could serve as a moral compass for 20-year-olds in America, adding: "Donald, sit and spin, my friend. I don't enjoy him."
Trump retaliated swiftly against the television personality, publicly calling O'Donnell "a loser" and "out of control." The bitter exchanges between the two public figures persisted over the following two decades.
Last year, Trump posted on social media that he was "giving serious consideration to taking away her citizenship" after O'Donnell relocated to Ireland shortly before his second inauguration.
Relocation to Ireland
Addressing her move overseas on the podcast, O'Donnell described finding a sense of tranquility away from American political tensions.
"His cruelty is so blatant, his criminal behavior is so obvious, his misogyny, his racism, his homophobia," O'Donnell said of Trump. "He's just a very dark spirit and I don't know why that's not obvious to the world."
She noted that public sentiment in Ireland differs sharply from her experiences in the United States. "I think it's obvious outside the US because in Ireland not one person has said to me that they like him," she shared. "People come up to me and go, 'Rosie, I'd like to buy you a pint because we hate him too.' And I'm like, 'Fantastic.'"
O'Donnell emphasized the personal relief her relocation has provided: "The stress level in the United States is so high compared to Ireland. There's a peace that I found there that is very healing for me."
Her recent podcast remarks follow an interview with Variety magazine last month, where O'Donnell delivered another blunt assessment of the president, calling Trump "the worst thing that ever happened to our country."
Earlier this week, O'Donnell also shared details about her acting career, commenting on a "horrifying" sex scene she filmed with Cynthia Nixon for the Sex and the City reboot series And Just Like That.
