Bill Maher aired the clip of that July 9, 1999, interview with O'Donnell on Friday night on his show "Real Time with Bill Maher." The short clip was from an interview on the comedian's former show "Politically Incorrect."
O'Donnell tells Maher that she had dabbled in "every other kind of religion," including witchcraft and Buddhism, before becoming a Christian.
With a laugh, she said: "I would have become a Hare Krishna, but I didn't want to become a vegetarian. And that is honestly the reason why, because I'm Italian and I love meatballs."
It's the third clip of O'Donnell that Maher has shown since she won her state's GOP primary last month.
Reached by phone, O'Donnell campaign spokesman Chris Merola had no immediate comment.
