‘The View’: Rosie O’Donnell Admits Whoopi Goldberg Was Meaner Than ‘Anyone Has Ever Been’ to Her

The revelations continue to pour out of a new book about the history of The View, with Rosie O’Donnell apparently spilling tea on all of her former co-hosts. The comedian has revealed her own past in the book and her feelings towards names like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters, but she might have saved her sharpest words for Whoopi Goldberg.

According to PEOPLE, O’Donnell describes Goldberg in Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View as “mean” and that interacting with her was the “worst experience I’ve ever had on live television.”

The feelings stem from a “clash” the pair had in 2009 in reference to Goldberg’s comments contending that director Roman Polanski hadn’t committed “rape rape” in 1979 when he pleaded guilty to statutory rape of Samantha Geimer, then 13. The disagreement resulted in an angry letter from Goldberg to O’Donnell, which the comedian says she gave a more reserved response according to PEOPLE.

“I’m sorry if that hurt your feelings,” O’Donnell’s note to Goldberg said. “I have different feelings about it than you. And I stand up for what I believe, but I’ll never bet against you, Whoopi Goldberg.”

It wasn’t until 2014 and O’Donnell’s return to the show after the departure of Barbara Walters that things seemed to come to a head. Goldberg reportedly “shut down” ideas that O’Donnell would bring to the table during their meetings and make their on-air relationship tense too.

“Some people would say, ‘What’s going on with you and Whoopi?’” O’Donnell recounts in the book. “I was like, ‘Are you watching the show? It’s pretty much right there.’ I have no desire for a public feud.”

PEOPLE adds that staffers felt O’Donnell was “on edge” during her second round with The View. The comedian would reportedly complain about Goldberg openly too, even broaching the subject with celebrity guests.

“Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me, personally — while I was sitting there,” O’Donnell admits in the book. “Worse than Fox News. The worst experience I’ve ever had on live television was interacting with her.”

She adds that the reality of Goldberg was a “painful experience” because the comedian “revered” her co-host before working alongside her.

“She’s a minority, feminist, smart, funny, groundbreaking legend who is black in America,” The comedian says. “I’m never going to not have respect for Whoopi Goldberg.”

Other excerpts from the book reveal that O’Donnell had quite the blowup with show founder Barbara Walters stemming from the comedian’s feud with Donald Trump. She was upset with Walter’s lack of defense publicly and lost her temper when the journalist legend chastised her backstage after returning from a vacation at the time.

“I definitely yelled,” O’Donnell admits in the book. “I said how disappointed I was and how shocked and hurt I was that she wouldn’t stand up for me. I felt very betrayed about her going behind my back and speaking to Donald Trump in Trumpian language.”

She also opened up about her spat with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her alleged “crush,” which didn’t sit well with the former Fox News host who added that the revelation made her immediately start praying.

“So that is disturbing and it’s wrong. And whether you’re a man or whether you’re a woman, and you’re objectifying women in the workplace, it’s wrong,” Hasselbeck said in her response.