Ellen DeGeneres is making it clear where she stands when it comes to supporting her friend Rosie O’Donnell and fellow entertainers against political intimidation.
The former talk show host used her massive social media platform to publicly support O’Donnell after President Donald Trump threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship, turning what started as a personal feud into a broader conversation about constitutional rights and the limits of presidential power.
DeGeneres posted to her 135 million Instagram followers a carousel on Sunday, July 13, featuring screenshots of both Trump’s inflammatory social media post and O’Donnell’s fierce response.
Her simple but powerful message, “Good for you,” accompanied by a tag of O’Donnell’s account, sent a clear signal of support that resonated across social media platforms.
The overwhelming response from DeGeneres’ followers reflected the public’s concern about the escalating rhetoric.
“The planet is dying and he’s fighting with celebrities,” one user wrote, capturing the sentiment that the president’s priorities seemed misplaced.
Another supporter declared, “In a world of Donald’s… be a Rosie!!” while a third person pointed out the timing: “Imagine being President of the United States and tweeting this about Rosie O’Donnell.”
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, July 12, announcing he was giving “serious consideration” to revoking O’Donnell’s citizenship, claiming she was “not in the best interests of our Great Country.”
The statement marked a dramatic escalation in their nearly two-decade feud, transforming personal animosity into what legal experts immediately recognized as an unconstitutional threat.
EPIC Trump TRUTH ™️ :
— Taxman™️ (@TaxmanTm) July 12, 2025
Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship. She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want… pic.twitter.com/bOMrzZBg9B
The legal reality quickly became clear as constitutional scholars weighed in on the impossibility of Trump’s proposal. The 1967 Supreme Court case Afroyim v. Rusk established that the U.S. government cannot revoke an individual’s citizenship without their consent, while the 14th Amendment protects citizenship for all people born on U.S. soil.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell University, explained to Newsweek that “a president cannot unilaterally revoke someone’s citizenship,” noting that denaturalization requires specific procedures typically reserved for cases involving fraud or misrepresentation.
The legal consensus reflected what many Americans already understood about constitutional protections, with one social media user noting, “You can’t legally take someone’s citizenship just because you don’t like them.”
O’Donnell fired back from her current home in Ireland, where she moved with her 12-year-old child Clay just days before Trump’s inauguration.
One of her defiant Instagram responses featured a photo of Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein and positioned herself as everything the president “fears.”
She described herself as a “loud woman, mother who tells the truth” and an American who “got out of the country b4 u set it ablaze.”
In a powerful contrast, she wrote, “You lie, you steal, you degrade – I nurture, I create, I persist. You are everything that is wrong with America – and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it you want to revoke my citizenship?”
She continued taking a jab at Trump’s appearance. She said, “Go ahead and try, King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan. I’m not yours to silence, I never was.”
The feud between Trump and O’Donnell stretches back to December 2006, when O’Donnell, then co-hosting “The View,” criticized Trump’s moral authority during a Miss USA pageant controversy. Their conflict became a cultural touchstone, reaching its most memorable moment during a 2015 presidential debate when Trump’s response to questions about his treatment of women was simply, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
Megyn Kelly: "You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.”
— Ryann McEnany (@RyannMcEnany) March 12, 2025
Donald Trump, our President: “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
He’s not wrong… pic.twitter.com/WiaFYDEqH0
O’Donnell’s decision to move to Ireland reflects her stated belief that Trump represents a danger to the country. In her response, she called him “a dangerous old soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy compassion and basic humanity,” adding that she stands “in direct opposition [to] all he represents — so do millions of others.”
The incident has sparked broader concerns about presidential overreach, with one commenter warning, “His rants about removing citizenship from Americans isn’t helping make him look sane or democratic. Americans should be very worried.”
While legal experts agree Trump lacks the authority to follow through on his threat, the statement itself signals a troubling willingness to use the presidency as a platform for personal vendettas, making DeGeneres’ public support all the more significant in demonstrating that celebrity voices can still unite against threats to constitutional democracy.
