Elisabeth Hasselbeck Reacts to Former ‘View’ Co-Star Rosie O’Donnell’s Crush Admission

Elisabeth Hasselbeck has responded to the new book revealing that Rosie O’Donnell had a “crush” on her during their time on The View together.

Hasselbeck and O’Donnell were co-hosts on The View for a short time before O’Donnell’s unceremonious exit. They got into their fair share of arguments, and had one blow-out fight that seemed to end O’Donnell’s run on the show. Still, O’Donnell said she had a soft spot for Hasselbeck, and in an interview on Fox and Friends on Tuesday, Hasselbeck was not pleased.

Hasselbeck told the show’s hosts that she “immediately started praying” when she read about O’Donnell’s “crush” this week. Furthermore, she said that if a man said the same thing about her, “there would be an objectification of women in the workplace.”

“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,” she added.

Hasselbeck’s response ignored O’Donnell’s clarification that the “crush” was not “sexualized.” In the new book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View,’ O’Donnell told author Ramin Setoodeh that she had rooted for Hasselbeck even when they were cast as enemies.

“Not that I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to support, raise, elevate her, like she was the freshman star shortstop and I was the captain of the team,” she said. “I was going to Scottie Pippen her. If I was Jordan, I was going to give her and the ball and let her shoot. But it was in no way sexualized.”

O’Donnell also said that there was an “underlying lesbian tones on both [of their] parts” in those years, noting that Hasselbeck was a former softball player.

“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,” she said.

On Tuesday, Hasselbeck retorted back at this comment as well, feeling that O’Donnell may have insulted all female athletes.

“I think her casting a stereotype on female athletes and what she said,” Hasselbeck 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.’”

“I can handle that with the grace of God because I need grace and I need forgiveness,” she continued. “So Rosie, I think it was disturbing to read those things and it was offensive to me, but I forgive her. I totally forgive you, Rosie … I really hope that we can be at peace and that we can both hold our beliefs in one hand and hold each other’s hand in the other and still have a relationship that’s at peace.”

Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View’ is available on Tuesday, April 2 where ever books are sold.