Rosie O’Donnell Says She Was ‘Nervous’ While Filming ‘Horrifying’ Sex Scene With Cynthia Nixon

The comedian didn't hold back while dishing on the unexpected challenge of shooting an intimate moment for the hit series. Turns out, even seasoned performers can get thrown off when the script calls for real-life pals to play lovers.

Rosie O'Donnell is opening up about a nerve-racking experience on the set of "And Just Like That…" The actress, 64, had to film a post-coital scene with Cynthia Nixon, who plays the no-nonsense Miranda Hobbes in the "Sex and the City" spin-off dramedy.

Rosie O'Donnell attends the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2026 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

During an appearance on Amy Poehler's "Good Hang" podcast, O'Donnell opened up about her role in the show.

She guest-starred in the first episode of the third and final season as Sister Mary, a nun who breaks her chastity vow and loses her virginity to Miranda, whom she meets at a lesbian bar while visiting New York City.

The comedian shared that filming the intimate scene with Nixon, who happens to be her good friend, was "horrifying" because she was "so nervous!"

The former television host revealed that when she first signed on to appear alongside Nixon, 60, on "And Just Like That…," she had no idea what type of scene it was. "First of all, I love her. Like, I love her. I have so much respect for her," O'Donnell said of the actress.

"She called me, and she's like, 'Ro, Michael Patrick [King] wrote you a scene, and it's with me. Will you do it?' I said, 'Of course I'll do it with you,'" she recalled. "Then, I read it, and I'm in bed with just the sheets. I'm like, 'Oh my God.'"

Rosie O'Donnel during her appearance on "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" on August 11, 2026. | Source: YouTube/Good Hang with Amy Poehler

O'Donnell told Poehler that the only other sex scene she had filmed in her career was with the late Julian McMahon, when she guest-starred on the FX drama "Nip/Tuck."

"So I was nervous with Cynthia," she said. "And then Michael said, 'You guys can be a little bit more.' And I'm thinking, 'I can't really.'" Poehler then lightheartedly remarked that it must feel "weird" to kiss one's friends.

"The kissing wasn't hard, but the laying in bed and the wanting us to act like we had just done it. I was like, 'Uhh.' But I'm a little immature when it comes to that," O'Donnell said.

Rosie O'Donnel during her appearance on "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" on August 11, 2026. | Source: YouTube/Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Poehler responded, "I don't even think that's immature. I've talked to a lot of my friends who have to do intimate scenes, and it's a skill." O'Donnell agreed, saying, "It's a skill. It really is."

Back in June 2025, Nixon shared that O'Donnell's casting was years in the making. "Michael Patrick King, who writes our show, and is one of the chief writers on our show, has been trying to write a part for Rosie every season, and it's never quite worked out," the actress said.

"So this time when he told me what the idea was, I thought, 'Oh this is fantastic, and he let me text her myself and describe it and say, "Could we please send you this script?" With all our fingers and toes crossed," Nixon recalled.

Nixon went on to gushe about having O'Donnell be a part of the "Sex and the City" universe, saying, "she is so funny in the part," yet "so centered and so real."

She went on to say, "I think that we knew she would be hilarious, but I think we were unprepared for how moving she would be in the part, how incredibly sincere and how much she would wear her heart on her sleeve."