Rosie O’Donnell said “nothing’s being done” about the ongoing disaster resulting from the Ohio train derailment — and she blasted the Environmental Protection Agency’s response in a post that’s since gone viral.
In the 60-year-old actress‘ TikTok video, the “A League Of Their Own” star didn’t beat around the bush when she called the EPA’s response “infuriating” and said the agency told those who live near the “toxic” train derailment in East Palestine that “everything’s okay,” “nothing to worry about” in a statement. She captioned her post using words like “toxic, tragedy, and criminal.”
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“This is a tragedy of epic proportion, and it’s criminal negligence by that chemical and train company,” O’Donnell shared. “And nothing’s being done about it. It’s not on the news enough. It’s not something that people are talking about. It’s like being pushed to the back burner.”
“The EPA comes out with a very non-alarmist, everything’s okay, don’t worry about a thing statement,” she added. “And it’s infuriating. I don’t trust the EPA. I don’t trust them. After 9/11, I don’t know how anyone could.”
“There was no cleanup. There was dust everywhere,” O’Donnell continued. “Toxic, horrible, cancer-causing. And they lied to the American people. I don’t believe the EPA.”
In a second video she posted on TikTok and Instagram, the former “The View” host hit back at some who said the comedian “finally woke up.” She also disputed that her stance was either Democratic or Republican, and said it was simply about being an American.
“I didn’t finally wake up. This is exactly how I felt at all national tragedies,” O’Donnell explained, as she listed things like 9/11, Columbine, and more. “This is what I feel — compassion for my fellow man; disappointment in a government that doesn’t take good enough care of its people; and frustration at the way corporate entities seem to have impunity in this country now.”
“This is not a Democratic or Republican stance,” she added. “This is who I’ve always been and it is always what has mattered to all Americans. We have to stop with the right and the left. We have to come together, soon.”