Rosie O’Donnell is the latest celebrity to reveal that she too has moved out of the U.S. Rosie, who has five children, Parker, 29, Chelsea, 27, Blake, 25, Vivienne, 22, and Clay, 12, announced earlier this week that in mid-January, she and Clay had moved to Ireland. You may recall that Rosie and Donald Trump have been feuding since she read him for filth on The View in 2006, calling him a “snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie.” LMAO she is a founding member of The Resistance. Anyway, in a TikTok video, Rosie said people there were “so kind” and that she’d consider coming back to the U.S. when it’s “safe” to do so.
[Rosie O’Donnell] posted a video on TikTok on Tuesday in which she shared that she moved to Ireland with her child Clay in mid-January, saying, “Although 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.”
O’Donnell explained that she moved to Ireland on January 15, and is “in the process” of getting her Irish citizenship as she has Irish grandparents.
“It’s been pretty wonderful, I have to say. The people are so loving and so kind, so welcoming. And I’m very grateful,” she also said.
“I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home, and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country,” O’Donnell added. “And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”
The “League of Their Own” star continued, “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.”
Later on in the video, O’Donnell explained her reasoning for sharing the news of her move now.
“I just felt like we needed to take care of ourselves and make some hard decisions and follow through,” she said. “And now as we’re getting settled, I was ready to post this and to tell everybody what’s been going on.”
O’Donnell is not the only celebrity to move out of the US in recent months. Personalities including Eva Longoria, Ellen DeGeneres, Richard Gere and others have also moved abroad.
I’m not surprised to hear that Rosie and Clay have moved to Ireland. Clay is non-binary and Rosie has been vocal about their autism in the past. I understand Rosie trying to keep them safe from this administration. I’m possibly going to Ireland later this year, so it’s lovely to hear how loving, welcoming, and kind people are there. I’m also not surprised that she picked Ireland because of her heritage. That makes a ton of sense to me, especially because she can get dual-citizenship. I’m of Italian heritage, but my grandma was born a few months after her parents immigrated to America, so I just miss out on dual-citizenship eligibility via descendancy. My aunt started the process, so I’ve been pushing both of my parents to do it too.
Last month, I sold something on Facebook Marketplace and the gentleman who picked it up said that he and his husband were moving to Spain as a result of the election. I remembered that Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi moved to the Cotswolds and it got me thinking about how much things have changed. For decades, we’ve had famous people on both sides of the aisle dramatically threaten to move out of the country if their candidate didn’t win. Nothing really ever came of that and it kinda became a joke as a result. This time, though, people – celebrities and normies – are actually leaving.
Rosie has been personally targeted by Trump since the 90’s. I don’t blame her for leaving and I hope the rest of her kids are safe.
Trump had that reporter, the one dating MTG, ask the Irish President how he felt about Rosie O’Donnell moving to Ireland while he and Tr*mp were doing a press conference from the Oval Office. The president of Ireland! SO embarrassing for this country, Tr*mp’s narcissism and pettiness know no bounds. Of course the Irish president had no idea who he was talking about.
Actually it was our Taoiseach, which is the equivalent of Prime Minister. The President is a more ceremonial role.
I imagine it was more of a context issue than Michéal not knowing who Rosie was. I think her father was actually born in Ireland, so she’s technically already a citizen. I help people with this process and there has been an uptick in queries from the USA (and Britain since Brexit).
Not going to judge people who feel threatened by their politicians and policies so that they leave their country of birth. There have been refugees since time immemorial. Anyway, everyone should have a back up plan.
I remember Madonna returning to the USA and telling the talk show host it was good she was living in the UK during the Dubya years.
Must be nice to have that opportunity. Hope she’s happy with her family.
If I could get another passport, I’d move in a second. Good for her for having the resources to do it and making it happen.
I can attest to how kind and welcoming the Irish are. I was visiting Ennis, Ireland and walking down a sidewalk when I tripped and fell. A man stopped his car, hopped out, and helped me up.
I’ve never forgotten it (happened 20 or so years ago!) and would move there in a heartbeat if I had a job waiting for me.
I saw this in real time on TikTok and it really hit me. She was basically speaking like a “normal” intelligent adult sharing their thoughts and fears (as opposed to a celebrity with talking points) and it was pretty striking.
Given the stories that trans people are being denied passports in the U.S., I’m glad she was able to get her child out. And I don’t judge her at all that she has the means to move. I would do anything for my child’s safety too. (Thinking of the hate she got for getting her young kids out of New York City on 9/11.)
It’s not just celebrities. non-famous citizens who have options are getting out too. My husband and I are working on a our path out as well- we are lucky that he’s a dual citizen so we have a fairly easy path to leave.
Rosie would also have known what happened to Kathy Griffin over that magazine cover and that was quite brutal as it was.
I have some Irish friends and family. Celtic hospitality is a genuine thing, and I’ve always felt welcomed.
Something to keep in mind though is that visiting and actually living in a country are not the same. There’s some tensions especially in Dublin due to the amount of immigrants, and the Irish public healthcare system, though filled with caring individuals, is not doing well at all.
I’m Irish, having lived in the US for a number of years, and returned home, I can confirm that the Irish health system, faulty as it is, is a million times better than the US because it is largely free.
As for the situation with immigration, like many countries, social media has spread lies and misinformation about asylum seekers. These lies are largely accepted by people with no ability or indeed inclination to look for truth, the stupid ones believe that the Internet is truthful and don’t questions sources and intent.
I’ve visited Ireland twice and can attest that the people are lovely. For a while, my Instagram feed kept showing me ads for getting a digital nomad visa by moving briefly to Spain. I seriously considered it! My grandparents on my father’s side were from Barbados and were British citizens. I wonder if I can get Bajan citizenship?