Rosie O'Donnell Faces Backlash for Defending Chrissy Teigen's Tweet About Ottawa Shooting

"I'm 100 percent behind you," says The View host, who tries to explain the point supermodel was making about gun control in the U.S.

By Rebecca Macatee Oct 24, 2014 6:06 PMTags
Chrissy Teigen, Rosie ODonnellMichael Simon/startraksphoto.com; ABC

Chrissy Teigen faced some harsh criticism Tuesday in response to her tweet about the tragic Ottawa shooting, and now, Rosie O'Donnnell is facing backlash for defending that tweet and trying to explain the supermodel's point about the prevalance of gun violence in the United States.

Let's backtrack a moment. Teigen, who has since quit Twitter (at least temporarily) due to the hostile response she's received to her comment, initially wrote: "active shooting in Canada, or as we call it in america, wednesday."

She quickly clarified that the tweet was intended to be "a knock at america and our issues with gun control" and not one "minimizing the Ottowa shooting."

O'Donnell seemed to understand the stance Teigen was taking on gun control in the U.S., and on Thursday's The View, she said of the controversial tweet, "I thought it was brilliant and on-point, but some people that it was insensitive."

"Timing is everything," replied guest co-host Amy Robach, "and I think when you tweet something like that in the middle of an active shooting, people are afraid, people are running for their lives and a man is dead."

O'Donnell tried to explain Teigen's point to her co-hosts. "I think she's saying, 'I'm an American. I live here. I see two people shot this week in Canada and the entire country of Canada is in mourning," she said. "However, in America, this happens on a daily basis and we don't even pay attention anymore."

Orange Is the New Black star Natasha Lyonne, a guest on the show, agreed that Teigen "makes a strong point," with her tweet, clarifying, "It's just maybe a question of how and when to make it, like you said the idea of timing is everything. And of course, when something is as sensitive as this, it's tricky..."

"Certainly her point is correct," Lyonne clarified, "that what's going on in America is out of hand..."

O'Donnell agreed about the problem in the U.S., and the following day, she posted a YouTube further defending Teigen's message. "Bravo, Chrissy," she said, "Bravo, Chrissy Teigen...Chrissy, I know exactly what you were saying, and I'm 100 percent behind you."