Rosie O'Donnell: Whoopi Goldberg Is Mean as Hell!

You may have noticed that Rosie O'Donnell has been in the news a lot this week.

And for once, it's not because the president found her appearance objectionable.

The gossipy tell-all of the week is Ramin Setoodeh's Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, and the book features a number of surprising revelations from Rosie.

Earlier this week, we learned that O'Donnell had a "crush" on co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck -- news that Hasselbeck responded to by praying, because of course she had to be a doofus about it and couldn't just accept the compliment.

Anyway, Rosie's bombshells certainly didn't end there.

Today, a newly-released excerpt from Setoodeh's book revealed Rosie's true feelings about longtime View co-panelist Whoopi Goldberg.

Now, O'Donnell and Goldberg have a lot in common:

They both lean far to the left politically, both are fondly regarded by Millennials for their roles in classic '90s comedies (Yes, A League of Their Own and Sister Act both qualify as classics. Look it up.), and both likely came to The View expecting to form a mutually-supportive working relationship).

Sadly, that didn't turn out to be the case.

"Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me, personally -- while I was sitting there," O'Donnell told Setoodeh.

"Worse than Fox News. The worst experience I've ever had on live television was interacting with her."

Needless to say, Rosie and Whoopi didn't get along while they were seated at the table together.

But believe it or not, it sounds as though the feud got even worse after they both left the show.

In 2009, for example, Whoopi defended legendary director Roman Polanski, insisting that the admitted statutory rapist hadn't committed "rape rape."

Rosie took issue with those remarks in an interview -- and she later received a very angry letter from Goldberg.

"I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings," O'Donnell wrote back to Goldberg.

"I have different feelings about it than you. And I stand up for what I believe, but I'll never bet against you, Whoopi Goldberg."

When Rosie returned to the show in 2014, she again clashed with Goldberg, this time over her belief that the show should cover Bill Cosby rape allegations.

"Some people would say, 'What's going on with you and Whoopi?'" O'Donnell recalled.

"I was like, 'Are you watching the show? It's pretty much right there.' I have no desire for a public feud."

O'Donnell says the situation was especially painful, as she had "revered" Goldberg prior to working with her.

"She's a minority, feminist, smart, funny, groundbreaking legend who is black in America," she concluded.

"I'm never going to not have respect for Whoopi Goldberg. But that was a painful experience, personally and professionally."

Despite that reverence, we're guessing these two won't be sitting to sort out their differences anytime soon.