Rosie O'Donnell Details 'Nasty' Backstage Fight with Barbara Walters at 'The View'

Rosie O'Donnell's most explosive moment at "The View" wasn't her infamous split-screen battle with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, but something that happened backstage with series creator Barbara Walters.

Their screaming match is one of the many things O'Donnell recalled in a new excerpt from "Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View," reporter Ramin Setoodeh's book about all the behind-the-scenes drama at the ABC morning show.

While Rosie's talked about her dustup with Walters over Donald Trump before, it was never with this much detail, with both Joy Behar and former executive producer Bill Geddie chiming in as well. Read the full excerpt over at Vanity Fair.

The wedge between the two cohosts began after Rosie famously impersonated Trump on the show while Barbara was on vacation, accused him of filing for bankruptcy and told him to "sit and spin, my friend." That led to furious calls to Geddie from Trump himself, who was ticked about all of Rosie's comments relating to his wealth, or lack thereof.

"My memory of it was she took over the stage and went crazy on him," Behar said of O'Donnell's televised attack. "She pulled her hair over and made comments about his infidelities and his money, which probably really freaked him out. As you can see from the fact that he never pays his taxes, that's something he never wants out there. But it was funny. I enjoyed sitting there and watching it. It was a fabulous show."

Trump went on to ruthlessly attack Rosie anywhere he possibly could, commenting on her appearance as he continued to slam her. "He could not control himself," said Joy, "He could not stop talking about Rosie O'Donnell ... it was disgusting. He's a nasty man."

When Walters returned from her break, O'Donnell felt Barbara didn't do enough to stand by her as Trump continued to go in on her in a very public way. It all came to a head on January 8, 2007, as Behar said, "Rosie wanted to be defended."

According to the excerpt, Rosie "lost it" and started "to berate" Walters. It was "the moment she went at Barbara," according to Geddie.

"I definitely yelled," Rosie admitted. "I said how disappointed I was and how shocked and hurt I was that she wouldn't stand up for me. I felt very betrayed about her going behind my back and speaking to Donald Trump in Trumpian language. I said something about her daughter, which I should not have said. But I did."

That comment: "No wonder Jackie can't stand you," referring to Walters' daughter. "Do not speak about my daughter," Barbara shot back.

Geddie said Barbara was "completely unprepared" for Rosie's strong words, especially in front of a room full of people. "I can't tell you everything she said, but it was nasty," he added. "And she does it for about 40 seconds, maybe a minute. I finally said, 'Enough. You can't talk to her anymore like this.' And she turned on me, saying how much she hated me for a variety of reasons."

"You don't scream at older ladies like that, regardless of who they are, and you certainly don't scream at Barbara Walters,' he added, "the person who hired you."

It wouldn't be until April 2007 that ABC announced Rosie's contract wouldn't be renewed. Though she was scheduled to appear on the show until June of that year, she cut her contract short in May following her explosive argument with Hasselbeck.

"Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View" will be released April 2, 2019.