Viewers of ABC's The View may have been aware of subtle tensions between Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O'Donnell when the comedian temporarily hosted the talk show, but apparently nobody realized just how bad it was.

O'Donnell explained the nature of their contentious relationship in Ramin Setoodeh's tell-all book called Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, about the behind-the-scenes drama of the long-running morning talk show.

O'Donnell called the EGOT winner "mean" and said that working alongside her was "worse than Fox News," The Jasmine Brand reports. O'Donnell allegedly said, "Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me, personally - while I was sitting there. Worse than Fox News. The worst experience I've ever had on live television was interacting with her."

Despite their strained relationship, O'Donnell had some kind words about her former co-host. "She's a minority, feminist, smart, funny, groundbreaking legend who is black in America. I'm never going to not have respect for Whoopi Goldberg. But that was a painful experience, personally and professionally."

According to PEOPLE, the two "clashed" in 2009. O'Donnell disagreed with Goldberg's stance on rape allegations against director Roman Polanski. Goldberg reportedly sent her co-host an "angry letter," to which O'Donnell replied, "I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings. I have different feelings about it than you. And I stand up for what I believe, but I'll never bet against you.”

O'Donnell isn't the only former co-host with smoke for Goldberg. Jenny McCarthy reportedly said in the same book, "To me, Whoopi had an addiction to controlling people's thoughts, their words, the room, the table, your feeling, your mood. She had an addiction to controlling all of it and everybody."

Whoopi has yet to respond to the criticism.