Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Now this is must-see TV: Rosie O'Donnell is returning to The View, albeit briefly, next week.
The former moderator will return to the show for the first time since she left the program in 2007 on Friday, Feb. 7. "I have great affection for Rosie and we have remained in contact through the years," executive producer Barbara Walters tells E! News in a statement. "I am happy to welcome her back to the program. She is always a lively and engaging guest and a part of the show's successful history."
"Lively and engaging" doesn't begin to cover it. During her eight-month stint on The View, O'Donnell often clashed with guests (including Donald Trump) and stirred up controversy with conservative political pundits.
In May 2007, the stand-up comedienne got into a heated discussion with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck when they debated the meaning of the word "terrorist." O'Donnell asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. Who are the terrorists?" A week later, O'Donnell accused Hasselbeck of not defending her when media outlets, including FOX News, claimed she'd called U.S. troops terrorists.
"You are my friend since September," O'Donnell, 51, told Hasselbeck, 36. "Do you believe that I think our troops are terrorists? And you would not even look me in the face, Elisabeth, and say, 'No, Rosie.'"
Hasselbeck—who now works for Fox & Friends—replied, "You are an adult, and I'm not going to be the person for you to explain your thoughts. Defend your own insinuations."
The exchange was filmed in a split-screen, and O'Donnell claimed that she'd portrayed in the press as a bully. "Every time I defend [my opinions] it's poor little Elisabeth that I'm picking on," she argued.
Hasselbeck dismissed the notion that she was "cowardly" for saying nothing, saying, "Do not call me a coward because I sit there every single day and open my heart to tell people exactly what I believe."
As a result of the episode, O'Donnell and ABC agreed to end her contract one month early on May 25.
Asked by a fan if O'Donnell "ever enjoyed Elisabeth," the outspoken star replied, "I can say this: I never tried harder to be friends with someone than I did with her, but I don't think we ever got there."
Three years later, on The Oprah Winfrey Show, O'Donnell said she realized her tenure was up after she caught a glimpse of herself fighting with Hasselbeck on a monitor. "I didn't want to argue for a living," said of her decision to leave. "I didn't come back because the director and the producer did a split screen, and they had to prepare that in advance. I felt there was setup egging me into that position."