Ring around the Rosie
Posted: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 11:52 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:
TV
Rosie O'Donnell is leaving "The View," but those who can't stand her shouldn't celebrate too much. On today's gabfest, she announced "I love you guys, I'm not going away," promising that while she wouldn't be on the show every day, she'd be making regular visits. "They're not kicking me out, don't worry!" she said.
I don't think anyone was worried about Rosie. If she's proven one thing on her tenure on "The View," it was that no one could boss Rosie around, no one could make her do anything she didn't want to do. She wanted a one-year contract, reportedly, ABC wanted three, and Rosie's not going to budge on what she wanted.
I'm not a regular watcher of "The View," due to a chronic allergy to happy talk in the morning. Rosie almost alleviated my allergy, injecting a delightful bit of venom into the girl-power gab.
Sure, much of the attention was given to the fact that her politics were almost mirror opposites of those of perky Elisabeth Hasselbeck, which did make for some humorous confrontations. (Rosie almost had a heart attack this morning when Hasselbeck misspoke and said she thought Dick Cheney would be a good candidate for president -- Hasselbeck meant to say John McCain.) But politics aside, Rosie at least kept things lively, even if her feuds, especially with Donald Trump, were childish and annoying.
A new online commentary in Newsweek claims that O'Donnell's real persona, as reflected in her Weblog, is more sensitive and easily hurt than the brash image she put forth on "The View." I can buy some of that -- who hasn't known someone whose public image differed greatly than their real life? -- but if you're going to trumpet your opinions as loudly and sarcastically as Rosie often did, you'd better have the toughest skin you can.
Sometimes Rosie said what viewers were thinking, sometimes she said what only Rosie was thinking. But she never was afraid to have an opinion, never afraid to throw it out there and defend it once she'd said it. "The View" would do well to pick up another host who has that same attitude, whatever their political opinions and lifestyle. It would be easy to find someone who can fly under the radar and utter opinions that no one disagrees with, but what fun is that?
