Rosie O'Donnell has come to the defense of media mogul Oprah Winfrey, saying she does not believe Winfrey is gay.

In a interview with Barbara Walters broadcast last week, Winfrey denied that she is involved in a lesbian relationship with her gal pal Gayle King.

Instead, an emotional Winfrey called King “the mother I never had … the sister everybody would want … the friend that everybody deserves.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of the page.)

“I think that she's always told the truth, so why people wouldn't believe her, you know, I don't know,” O'Donnell told ABCNews.com. “She's not a faker in any way. … I don't think she's gay.”

But O'Donnell has previously drawn attention to Winfrey's sexual orientation. In a 2009 The Howard Stern Show appearance the openly gay comedian-actress said, “I think they [Winfrey-King] are the emotional equivalent of a gay couple.”

O'Donnell is expected to premiere her talk show on the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) launching next month.