Ricki Lake has revealed that her close friend Rosie O’Donnell was “a little judgy” about her facelift, before going on to have one herself. Lake shared the story on ABC’s The Weekend View on Saturday, October 31, and it has become one of the most talked-about celebrity moments of the weekend.
Lake, 58, said O’Donnell, 64, was her friend first and her critic second. “She’s my really good friend, we talk all the time, and she was a little judgy. She would admit it,” Lake said. “She’s like, ‘Why do you need it? You don’t need it.’”
Then, Lake said, O’Donnell changed her mind. “And sure enough, she lost a bunch of weight, and she went and had it done,” Lake added. “She looks phenomenal.”
Lake’s own facelift
Lake had a deep-plane lower face and neck lift in 2024, along with a mild CO2 laser treatment. She decided to have the procedure after losing 40 pounds and reaching her goal weight of 130 pounds, when loose skin under her chin would not go away on its own.
She has been open about the results ever since. In July 2026, she marked two years since the procedure and said she was pleased with how natural and long-lasting the results had been.
Lake was clear about what she wanted from the surgery. She said she was not “trying to look 20” and only wanted to feel like herself again. “I have my natural gray hair. I really own my age, and I love the age I’m at,” she said on The Weekend View.
O’Donnell’s change of heart
O’Donnell had once been firmly against facelifts. In a Substack essay published in May 2026, she wrote that she used to feel “very strongly about facelifts. Not casually, morally. I had assigned myself as head of all women who would never, ever.”
“I thought it was a betrayal. Of feminism. Of aging. Of our team of women worldwide,” she wrote. “And then I lost 50 pounds.”
After the weight loss, O’Donnell had a lower deep-plane facelift in January 2026. She wrote that the problem was not wrinkles but gravity, and that she wanted to still look like herself, just less tired. “I do look like me, a slightly more well-rested, emotionally stable version of me,” she wrote.
Her 13-year-old child, Clay, had first advised her against the procedure, saying they would not be able to respect her if she went through with it. O’Donnell delayed the surgery for months. She later said she wanted her children to grow up in a world where they do not feel they have to change, but also know they can if they want to, without losing moral standing.
Two long careers in the spotlight
Lake and O’Donnell both became famous young, and both have spent decades in the public eye. Lake broke out as Tracy Turnblad in John Waters’ Hairspray in 1988, when she was 19, and went on to host her own daytime talk show, Ricki Lake, through the 1990s and early 2000s.
O’Donnell built her career in stand-up comedy before becoming a film star in A League of Their Own and The Flintstones, then a daytime host herself with The Rosie O’Donnell Show. She has since become known for her outspoken views and, in recent years, for her move to Ireland, where she has been living with Clay.
That long shared history is part of why the story feels warm rather than awkward. These are two women who have known each other through fame, family life and middle age, and who can be honest with each other about the choices they make.
Two friends, one honest conversation
Lake and O’Donnell have known each other for years, and the story works because it is honest rather than bitter. Lake did not present O’Donnell as a hypocrite. She presented her as a friend who held a strong view, then changed it when her own circumstances changed.
O’Donnell has been just as open. Speaking on the Tony Awards red carpet in June 2026, she said she probably would not have any further cosmetic procedures for now, and that honesty mattered to her. “Authenticity is the goal in these days and times,” she said.
The exchange also says something about how celebrities talk about cosmetic surgery now. Both women have described their procedures in plain language, without pretending nothing happened. Lake has said she wanted to feel like herself again after losing weight. O’Donnell has said she wanted to look like herself, only more rested. Neither has claimed the surgery turned back the clock.
Why people are talking about it
The story has spread because it is relatable. Most people have held a firm opinion about something, then changed it when life gave them a reason to. Lake’s account of O’Donnell’s change of heart is funny, warm and free of judgment, even though judgment is the subject.
It is also part of a wider shift. Stars are speaking more openly about the work they have had done, and about the reasons behind it. Jennifer Lawrence recently spoke openly about her own cosmetic procedure plans, and the conversation around these choices has become less secretive and more practical.
For Lake and O’Donnell, the story is a small one between two old friends. But it has landed because it is told with the kind of honesty that is still rare in celebrity interviews.
Frequently asked questions
What did Ricki Lake say about Rosie O’Donnell?
Ricki Lake said on The Weekend View on October 31, 2026, that Rosie O’Donnell was “a little judgy” about her facelift, asking “Why do you need it? You don’t need it,” before having a facelift herself.
When did Ricki Lake have her facelift?
Ricki Lake had a deep-plane lower face and neck lift in 2024, after losing 40 pounds to reach her goal weight of 130 pounds.
When did Rosie O’Donnell have her facelift?
Rosie O’Donnell had a lower deep-plane facelift in January 2026, after losing 50 pounds. She wrote about the decision in a Substack essay published in May 2026.
