Rosie O’Donnell Admits Regret for Making Fun of Anne Heche Amid Her Hospitalization

Rosie O’Donnell is expressing remorse. As actress Anne Heche remains in a coma after she survived a fiery car crash in Los Angeles on Friday, O’Donnell took to TikTok on Sunday to reflect on her past treatment of Heche, sharing that she now feels “bad” for her remarks.

In the video, the former The View co-host said she “can’t stop thinking about this Anne Heche accident and how horrifying the whole thing is.” O’Donnell added that she also “can’t stop feeling bad that I made fun of her when she was talking to Barbara Walters about having a relationship with space aliens, you know,” referencing Heche’s 2001 20/20 interview with Walters during which Heche said she “created a fantasy world” and an alternate personality called Celestia being sexually molested by her father, Donald Heche.

“I’m not crazy. But it’s a crazy life. I was raised in a crazy family and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me,” Heche said at the time, according to Entertainment Tonight. “I had a fantasy world that I escaped to. I called my other personality Celestia. I believed I was from that world. I believed I was from another planet. I think I was insane.” 

During an Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Carolines Comedy Club in Manhattan’s Times Square a year later, O’Donnell addressed the interview, asking the crowd, “What the hell kind of train wreck was that?” She also took shots at Heche’s sexuality and her three-year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, saying, per Us Weekly, “She couldn’t just say, ‘I was a lesbian for two years, it didn’t work out for me?’”

In her Sunday video, O’Donnell went on to express concern for Heche, adding, “I wonder if she’s okay.” O’Donnell said she believes “it’s a miracle that she didn’t kill anyone and thank God or Goddess or whoever for that. And I hope she survives, but wow what a tragic tale and that car was on fire for a long time they say, they couldn’t pull her out. That is a hard sentence to give yourself.”

The fiery crash occurred on Aug. 5 as Heche was driving a blue Mini Cooper in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, first crashing into an apartment complex’s garage before speeding away and later crashing into a home, which erupted in flames. Heche was eventually pulled from the vehicle, though she suffered burns and remains hospitalized in a coma. The crash is currently being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department. At this time, the actress has not been charged with a crime and it is unclear if she was impaired or not during the accident.