Rosie O’Donnell Blasted For Stereotyping Female Athletes As ‘A Little Bit Gay’

Rosie O’Donnell is getting slammed for her recent comments about female athletes. The former View host was quoted in Ramin Setoodeh’s buzzy new book, Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, as saying top female athletes are all “a little bit gay.”

Variety posted excerpts from the book, in which Rosie O’Donnell admitted that she had “a little bit of a crush” on her former View co-star Elisabeth Hasselbeck when they co-hosted the ABC talk show together from 2006 through 2007. And in a stunning revelation, O’Donnell alleged that Hasselbeck’s past as a former Boston College softball star is “evidence” that she may swing more than one way.

“I think there were underlying lesbian undertones on both parts,” O’Donnell said of her relationship with Hasselbeck. “She was the MVP of a Division 1 softball team for two years that won the finals. There are not many, in my life, girls with such athletic talent on sports teams that are traditionally male that aren’t at least a little bit gay.”

It may come as no surprise that Rosie O’Donnell’s controversial comments about female athletes have outraged social media fans. After O’Donnell’s theory on female athletes was made public, many people took to Twitter to blast the former View star. Some people wrote that a female athlete’s prowess has absolutely nothing to do with her sexuality, while others noted that Title IX protects all school athletes from being stereotyped or discriminated against.

Some of Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s fans accused O’Donnell of trying to “hurt” the Christian mother of three by making up rumors about her. Indeed, there has been bad blood between Rosie and Elisabeth ever since their blowout fight on The View more than 10 years ago.

You can see some of the social media reaction to Rosie O’Donnell’s comments about female athletes below.

@Rosie Disappointed in your remark that good athletic girls must be 'a little bit gay.' Thank goodness for Title 9 that girls can now prove that they are just as good, if not better, than boys. My sister, daughter and granddaughter are all good athletes and none are gay.

— debbiejean (@derimeci) March 26, 2019

In addition, Elisabeth Hasselbeck has weighed in on Rosie’s O’Donnell’s careless comments, as was previously shared by The Inquisitr. According to Entertainment Tonight, during an appearance on Tuesday’s Fox & Friends, Hasselbeck responded to Rosie O’Donnell’s bizarre comments about female athletes.

“I think her casting a stereotype on female athletes and what she said… that all female athletes are a little bit gay… I would say this directly to her, and I would say, ‘That’s an unfair stereotype and it seems selfish in a way and I think that it’s untrue,'” Hasselbeck said.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck also revealed that she immediately tried to contact O’Donnell after reading her remarks, but had an old phone number and was unable to reach her. Hasselbeck says she is now offering her forgiveness to Rosie O’Donnell, and wishing her “the peace of God.”

Of course, this is not the first time Rosie O’Donnell has given her opinion on other stars’ sexual preferences. Several years ago, Rosie talked to SiriusXM host Howard Stern about rumors that Oprah Winfrey and her best friend, Gayle King, are gay.

“I don’t know. I think she’s never been married and she’s exceptionally close to Gayle [King],” Rosie O’Donnell said, per NBC Los Angeles. “I don’t know that she and Gayle are necessarily doing each other but I think they are the emotional equivalent of… When they did that road trip, that’s as gay as it gets. And I don’t mean it to be an insult either. I’m just saying, listen, if you ask me, that’s the couple.”

Oprah and Gayle have long denied rumors that they are gay.

Rosie O’Donnell has not yet responded to the backlash over her recent comments about female athletes.