Rosie O’Donnell has found herself in a heap of drama after a bout of ignorance led to an unfortunate misunderstanding, with her subsequent apologies only seeming to dig herself deeper.
The former talk show host took to TikTok earlier this week to tell a story about running into Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra at Malibu hot spot Novu. She told Nick he was great in Kingdom and turned to Priyanka to claim that she knows her father.
“She goes, ‘You do? Who’s my dad?’” Rosie recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Deepak.’”
Famed author Deepak Chopra, of course, is not Priyanka’s father (her father died in 2013), and the actress informed Rosie of as much, while also letting her know Chopra is a common name.
“I felt so embarrassed,” she continued. “So Nick Jonas, I apologize, and to the Chopra wife, I apologize, too."
@rosie Visit TikTok to discover videos!
Unfortunately, repeatedly referring to Priyanka as “the Chopra wife” didn’t go over too well with anybody, and a number of commenters called Rosie out for not doing just a little bit of research before going on TikTok and telling this story to the world.
She then had to issue another apology the next day, noting that Priyanka is a well-known actress and reiterating, “I just want to apologize to her and to everyone who thought that it was really inappropriate of me. Sorry. Sometimes, I fuck up.”
Rosie also corrected some people in her comments who thought Priyanka sounded rude in the way Rosie retold the encounter, clarifying that it was “just awkward,” and “I’m sure she gets sick of” being asked if she’s related to Deepak.
For her part, Priyanka posted a statement on Instagram yesterday saying that while she doesn’t expect everyone in the world to know who she is, “if you wanted to make a public apology for a very awkward private encounter, I think [it’s] probably best to take the time to google my name before doing it or even try to reach out directly.”
“We ALL deserve to be respected for our unique individuality and not be referred to as ‘someone’ or ‘wife’, especially in a sincere apology,” she continued.
