Comedian and former daytime talk show host Rosie O’Donnell has moved out of the U.S. to Ireland with her nonbinary child Clay following the re-election of President Donald Trump. She’s at least the second high-profile lesbian comedienne to do so, following Ellen DeGeneres.
In a nine-minute TikTok video, O’Donnell reveal that she moved to Ireland on January 15 and is in the process of getting her Irish citizenship (as she has Irish grandparents).
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“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,” she said.
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“Clay is happy,” she said. “I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and trying to find a home here in this beautiful country, and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”
“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,” she said. She also criticized the mainstream media for “letting us all down,” adding, “Here’s hoping that they will get better before it’s too late and here’s hoping it’s not too late already. 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, not a man, and we don’t have cruelty as part of our governing style.”
“Protect your sanity is all I can say,” she concluded. “Protect your sanity as much as you can and try not to swim in the chaos, if possible, but I know it’s nearly impossible when you’re there in the middle of it,” she said. “I am hoping that we can turn things around, counting on you, both of you, to do what’s right.”
Last November, lesbian comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, reportedly moved to Cotswolds, England in response to Trump’s victory. They purchased their home there before the election, the results spurred them “to get the hell out” of the country immediately. They also put their Montecito, California, home on the market.
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