Rosie O'Donnell revealed that she was inspired to go under the knife and get a facelift after moving to Ireland with her teenage child Clay, following her 50-lb weight loss transformation. The 64-year-old revealed that she had undergone a facelift in a personal Substack essay published in May, where she explained her extensive deliberation beforehand.
Rosie then shared with Entertainment Tonight at the Tony Awards on Monday that her move across the ocean to Ireland in January 2025 inspired her to get plastic surgery.
"I feel really great. I mean it was very easy," she told the outlet. "Just not to have the lines that made me look sad, 'cause people would see me in Ireland and go, 'Oh, something wrong darling?' and I'm like 'No, that's my face.'"
© WireImageThe comedienne added that she felt obligated to share her story with the world so as to not perpetuate harmful messages about weight loss. "A lot of people were writing, 'What did you do, you look so good, if only I could move to Ireland,'" she said.
"Whenever a celebrity who had a weight problem their whole life all of a sudden gets very thin, and they don't announce that they're on Mounjaro, I think it does a disservice to everybody who ever struggled with obesity."
She continued: "I didn't want to say to everyone, 'This is just me naturally', even though so many people I know in showbusiness who've had them never would say it…just tell the truth, we'll all be better off."
© WireImageRosie shared on her Substack how her attitude towards plastic surgery had changed dramatically over the years. "I used to feel very strongly about facelifts. Not casually – morally. I had assigned myself as head of all women who would never – ever," she wrote.
See Rosie's incredible transformation below...
"I thought it was a betrayal. Of feminism. Of aging. Of our team of women worldwide. And then I lost 50 pounds…". The actress added that her 13-year-old child Clay was staunchly against the move, which reminded her of herself as a young woman.
"Clay said, 'Young women look up to you,' and finally – with strong effect – 'I wouldn't be able to respect you if you did it.' And that one… landed."
© Instagram"What was wild is – she sounded exactly like me," the mother of five said. "Like my younger, more certain, more morally rigid self had somehow moved into my house and was now judging my face. It really threw me."
© InstagramRosie added that she wanted to teach Clay about the importance of bodily autonomy above all else. "If I'm teaching Clay anything, it can't be that my body belongs to an idea either. Even a good idea. Even feminism." The former talk show host shared before and after photos of her procedure, and explained that she was excited to enter "act three" of her life.
"As I get ready for the last day of school with my youngest – the caboose, here at 64 years old with a new lower face and neck, just happy to be alive. Able to feel and choose and use my voice whenever I feel called to. For the girl I was. The woman I am."
