What did Rosie O’Donnell say about Minnesota school shooter? Former host apologizes over “White supremacist” comments

Former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell has apologized for her recent comments about the Minnesota Catholic school shooter in a social media post. O’Donnell was referring to the comments she made after news of children being shot at while offering their first Mass of the school year.

As per The Daily Beast on August 29, O’Donnell posted a video on TikTok wherein she said,

“Saw about the Minnesota shooting, and it brought me right back to Columbine in 1999 when I just could not get it through my head that students in America were shooting each other in schools…This was a church inside a Catholic school. And what do you know? It was a white guy, Republican, MAGA person, what do you know? White supremacist”

On August 31, O’Donnell took to Instagram to acknowledge that her comments about the background of the shooter were incorrect. The caption of her Instagram post read,

“Yes i was wrong - i apologise for laziness at not looking throughly at the facts of this shooter - she was anti trump and not maga - i have taken the video down n i apologize.”

Facts about the Minnesota school shooter which contradicted Rosie O’Donnell’s claims

Rosie O’Donnell’s incorrect comments about the Minnesota school shooter, identified as Robin Westman, came a couple of days after the tragic shooting incident claimed the lives of two school children and injured many others. Her comments mirrored the confusion caused by fake news which gets circulated in the midst of emotional despair that surrounds an incident like school shootings, incidents which are unexpected, tragic and claim the lives of innocent victims.

Rosie O’ Donnell’s initial comments about the background of the Minnesota school shooter attempted to paint an unidimensional picture about the possible reasons behind Robin Westman’s decision to carry out the shooting assault in the premises of the school’s church. Apart from killing two children, Westman’s shooting attack injured 17 other victims.

However, unlike O’Donnell’s initial character assessment of Westman, media reports shared Westman’s online posts and handwritten manifesto, all of which suggested a far more complex picture. Based on  media reports, it is safe to say that Westman’s ideological leanings were certainly not pro-MAGA (Make America Great Again).

As per New York Post, Westman had expressed his hatred of Donald Trump in social media posts. At the same time, Westman’s online posts were disparaging of racial minorities like Black and Hispanic people, noted ABC News.

Beyond the hate-filled political opinions, Westman’s online posts also revealed deep personal anguish and confusion surrounding the issue of gender and sexuality.