Sunny Hostin said she was shocked that “someone as strong and funny and interesting as Rosie equated having work done to being anti-feminist.”

The View reacts to ex-cohost Rosie O’Donnell’s shocking facelift: ‘Surprised’ by her ‘anti-feminist’ remark

Sunny Hostin said she was shocked that "someone as strong and funny and interesting as Rosie equated having work done to being anti-feminist."

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May 29, 2026 2:11 p.m. ET

Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin react to Rosie O'Donnell's facelift on 'The View'. Credit:

The View; Rosie O'Donnell/Instagram; The View

- *The View* cohosts reacted to former panelist Rosie O'Donnell's headline-making facelift.

- Sunny Hostin admitted she was "surprised that someone as strong and funny and interesting as Rosie equated having work done to being anti-feminist."

- Sara Haines said that women choosing to get cosmetic procedures is "where equality comes."**

*The View* cohosts have reacted to former panelist Rosie O'Donnell's headline-making facelift — and the actress' comments about feminism as it relates to cosmetic procedures.

Days after the entertainer and ex-*View* moderator revealed that she underwent a facelift procedure, the talk show's current panel broke down the development, with some expressing shock over O'Donnell making a connection between feminism and plastic surgery.

"My friend Rosie O'Donnell is sharing how she was racked with guilt over her decision to get a facelift," Joy Behar said at the top of Friday's show. "She says she just wanted to look more rested and less haunted, but she admits she used to be against women getting work done on their faces" because, as O'Donnell said in an Instagram post, it felt like "a betrayal" of "feminism," "aging," and "our team of women worldwide."

Rosie O'Donnell shows off facelift.

Rosie O'Donnell/Instagram

Sunny Hostin admitted she was "surprised that someone as strong and funny and interesting as Rosie equated having work done to being anti-feminist," while Sara Haines also pushed back on O'Donnell's classification of the procedure.

"It's close to the whole tradwife vs. working woman, how we always talk about, well, is it bad, then, to want to be at home? It was always about choice," Haines said. "That's where equality comes, that's where the feminism really is. It's individual choice that makes it powerful."

Ana Navarro told the panel that she spoke with O'Donnell about the topic before the show aired, and said that she told the comedian that, for her, "being a feminist means doing something that makes you feel empowered and happy," and that O'Donnell informed her that she got the facelift "because I was looking sad when I'm feeling so happy" at this point in her life.

** has reached out to O'Donnell's representatives for comment.

Joy Behar insists that her hiatus from 'The View' is 'not a hiatus'

Rosie O'Donnell reacts to Elisabeth Hasselbeck's tearful plea to stop 'lying' about 'View' feud: 'I don't hold back'

O'Donnell remains one of the most memorable cohosts from *The View*, despite only appearing on two of the show's 29 total seasons.

She and fellow former cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck made pop culture history in 2007, when they engaged in a heated clash that resulted in a highly publicized split-screen setup that was unprecedented for the show at the time.

On the air, Hasselbeck spoke about O'Donnell's long-standing feud with Donald Trump, while O'Donnell voiced additional concern over her feeling that *Survivor* alum and political conservative Hasselbeck didn't defend her from accusations of anti-Americanism stemming from O'Donnell's opposition to United States military action in Iraq.

Rosie O'Donnell and Barbara Walters on 'The View'.

In a March 2026 interview on the show's *Behind the Table* podcast, Hasselbeck reflected on the moment in a chat with producer Brian Teta.

"[I would've] maybe tried to be a little bit more physically calm, but, I don't know," Hasselbeck said. "I was so passionate about the issue. For me, I think that I'm proud to have spoken on behalf of the military, and I'm proud that this is a program that allowed even that passion to be shared. It's ugly. It's not a fun thing to look at."

Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell for 'The View'.

Yolanda Perez/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

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The podcast interview came weeks after O'Donnell addressed the fight in an October 2025 podcast interview, in which she alleged that the whole thing "was a setup" by late producer Bill Geddie, who worked with the show from 1997 through 2014.

Hasselbeck later addressed O'Donnell's claims in a tear-filled Instagram tirade that saw her call for O'Donnell to "stop the madness" and "stop the lying."

*The View* airs weekdays on ABC.

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