Rosie O’Donnell has revealed that she has moved from the United States to Ireland, where she is applying for citizenship in the wake of President Trump’s second term.
“When you know it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back,” O’Donnell said in a nine-minute video shared on TikTok. She said she is “very grateful” to have found a new home in Ireland, adding that the “people here are so loving, kind and welcoming.”
While O’Donnell made it obvious her relocation was due to the state of politics in the U.S., the Emmy winner never mentioned President Trump by name. She said of the current state of American politics, “It has been heartbreaking to see what is happening over there politically and hard for me personally as well.”
O’Donnell also cited her nerves around TikTok potentially “going away” and the state of media outlets under the new’s administration hostility toward them as reasons to leave the States.
“The mainstream media has been letting us all down in America, where the fourth estate is required to maintain a democracy,” she said. “They haven’t been doing their job.”
She continued, “I encourage everyone to stand up, to use their voice, to protest, to demand that we follow the constitution in our country, and not a king and not a man and we don’t have cruelty as part of our governing style.”
O’Donnell closed her message by encouraging her followers to not get wrapped up in the constant, and often chaotic, coverage of politics.
“Protect your sanity as much as you can, and try not to swim in the chaos, if possible,” O’Donnell said. “But I know it’s nearly impossible when you’re there in the middle of it.”