Rosie O’Donnell spent decades “morally” opposed to facelifts, deciding she would never, ever get one – but then she did.
The 64-year-old comedian revealed she underwent a secret facelift in January, writing a poem called Decisions on her Substack that spoke to her complicated feelings about going under the knife.
“It cost more money than I have ever paid for a car,” O’Donnell wrote.
“My privileged place in the world,” she said.
“And that feels almost shameful to me. The things I have – earned some say, but it’s the gross excess that wounds me.”
O’Donnell said she used to consider facelifts to be “a betrayal”.
“Of feminism. Of ageing. Of our team of women worldwide. And then I lost 50 pounds [22.6 kilograms].”
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The weight loss led to a change of heart, so O’Donnell began to research, until her youngest child, Clay, temporarily talked her out of it.
O’Donnell is a mother to five children: Parker, 31; Chelsea, 28; Blake, 26; Vivienne, 23; and Clay, 13.
“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,” she wrote.
She delayed the surgery for months until she eventually decided, ”I want them to grow up in a world where they don’t feel like they have to change but also know they can, if they want to, without losing moral standing in their own life.”
Surprisingly, O’Donnell said no one had even noticed she had even done it – which was the best possible outcome.
She was happy with the results but admitted there was a “sense of deceit I’m dealing with”.
But she felt compelled to share her truth, as she had throughout her career.
“For the girl I was. The woman I am. And all those joining my ranks as we carry on in act three. This is me,” she said.
