Rosie O’Donnell recently spoke about her decision to undergo a facelift at age 64, admitting that the experience forced her to confront long-held beliefs about aging and feminism.
In another defiant gesture, the actress shared a before and after image, flaunting her new facial transformation.
However, Rosie O’Donnell has now been subjected to cruel mockery online, with many trolling her for the results and others lambasting the comedian’s past anti-facelift stance.
Rosie O’Donnell reflects on facelift decision, admits mixed feelings after years of opposing cosmetic surgery
O’Donnell opened up about her facelift, sharing before and after photos on Instagram while reflecting on the mixed emotions she has about the experience.
In a personal essay published on Substack, the comedian admitted that she initially felt uncomfortable about the procedure, describing it as something she found “almost shameful” due to the cost and what it meant to her.
She said she had long struggled with the idea of cosmetic surgery, once considering it incompatible with her beliefs and even calling it a “betrayal” of feminist values.
Her perspective changed after she lost about 50 pounds and began noticing changes in her skin that she had difficulty accepting.
She remembers trying to reframe it in a positive way as natural aging, but ultimately wondering how far acceptance should go before it starts to feel forced. “There comes a point when acceptance starts to feel like a lie,” she wrote.
Actress faces brutal criticism over her facelift results
On social media, the comments were very harsh towards O’Donnell, only intensifying after she shared before and after images of her facelift procedure.
“I will sue anyone who claims to have done this work – all I can detect are the telltale signs of Ozempic, with the emaciated buccal fat,” one brutal comment on X read.
“They still haven’t learned a lesson from the facelift. It only makes them worse,” said another, while a third person noted: “It’s a shame it didn’t work.”
Another person remarked, “I don’t see much improvement to be honest,” while one harsh reviewer wrote, “She should demand a refund because it didn’t work.” »
Amid the mockery, O’Donnell received support from people who praised her for her honesty and facial transformation.
“She looks great, good for her actually,” one supporter said on X.
Rosie O’Donnell revealed her child Clay struggled with facelift decision: ‘I wouldn’t be able to respect you’
O’Donnell also shared a personal moment with family that influenced his thinking. Her 13-year-old child, Clay, expressed concern about the surgery, initially reassuring her that she had “earned” her wrinkles through her life experiences.
Clay’s reaction, she noted, reminded her of her own younger self, someone she described as “morally more rigid” in her beliefs, almost as if that version of her had come home.
She viewed the conversation as a moment of reflection, not only for herself, but also as something her children could learn from about autonomy and self-acceptance.
“I want them to grow up in a world where they don’t feel like they have to change, but where they also know that they can do it, if they want to, without losing their moral standing in their own lives,” she explained.
Clay also expressed concerns about his influence, noting that young people who look up to him could be affected by his choices.
The conversation became more direct when Clay added that they might have difficulty respecting her decision if she continued with the procedure, a statement that O’Donnell said affected her deeply and stuck with her afterward.
Actress says no one noticed her facelift after she wanted to look ‘less haunted’
After months of uncertainty, O’Donnell said she finally decided to undergo the procedure in January.
She explained that she chose a surgeon she felt comfortable with, someone who had worked on people she knew before and still managed to preserve their natural appearance.
Her intention, she said, was not to become someone else, but to feel like herself again, just “less haunted” by her reflection.
After surgery, the “Sleepless in Seattle” star described the results as subtle enough that no one around her seemed to notice any changes, even close friends or people who might normally comment. She said she now considers herself “a slightly more rested and emotionally stable version” of who she was before.
O’Donnell also reflected on wanting “a limit” in the procedure, saying she hoped to avoid falling into a cycle of constant adjustments or over-correcting.
Closing her thoughts, O’Donnell described this period as the beginning of what she calls her “Act 3.”
Rosie O’Donnell once said avoiding plastic surgery helped her career before revealing her facelift decision
In previous interviews, O’Donnell has openly criticized cosmetic surgery and said she never felt pressured to pursue it.
Back in a 2021 conversation with Vultureshe reflected on how this choice shaped both her image and her professional journey.
At the time, the “League of Their Own” star explained that she always planned to become a character as she got older, rather than changing her appearance.
She explained at the time: “As an actress, I always knew that when I got to my sixties, I would be playing Geraldine Page roles. I wasn’t going to have plastic surgery. I was going to look like what a woman my age should look like, and I always thought that would be a blessing at my advanced age. I could play Colleen Dewhurst roles.”
She later noted that this approach actually worked out as she expected, saying that she began to receive more acting opportunities as she entered her sixties.
