Rosie O’Donnell is explaining that her longtime affection for Tom Cruise was never romantic in the way many people assumed. Speaking on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, O’Donnell said she can still find a man attractive without wanting anything sexual.
O’Donnell, who came out as a lesbian in 2002, said watching Luke Evans perform in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway recently reminded her that attraction can be complicated. She joked that while she may want to be near someone like that or have lunch with him, she is not interested in “the downtown mechanics,” according to E! News.
Poehler agreed that attraction can raise different questions, including whether someone wants to kiss a person, be them, or simply win their approval. She also pointed out that O’Donnell’s public fascination with Cruise in the 1990s was not a sexual crush, which O’Donnell said was true.
O’Donnell said she has long believed she was being clear about her feelings for Cruise, adding that when she later came out, she was surprised some people acted shocked. She also said Cruise has been kind to her over the years, including appearing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show in 1996 and staying in touch after that.
