Rosie O’Donnell knows a thing or two about dealing with controversies.
During her interview on Busy Phillips Is Doing Her Best podcast, Rosie O’Donnell acknowledged that hosting her talk show wasn’t easy. After all, she couldn’t fake her presence on television.
Rosie O’Donnell has compassion for Ellen DeGeneres
As such, O’Donnell said that she has compassion for Ellen DeGeneres amid all the criticisms she’s been receiving.
“I have compassion, even though, you know, I hear the stories and I understand. I think she has some social awkwardness,” she said.
O’Donnell also revealed why she has never appeared on Ellen Show. She said that she knows that DeGeneres sometimes surprises her celebrity guests.
“I’ve never done that show because I’m terrified she’s going to scare me and give me a heart attack,” she said.
Rosie O’Donnell departs ‘The View’
In 2015, the actress made headlines after she surprised everyone with her decision to quit The View. According to Variety, it was the actress’s unhappiness that ultimately led her to that make that tough decision.
But O’Donnell said that she decided to quit because she wanted to focus on her family. Reports also revealed that O’Donnell was branded as a demanding and abrasive boss.
There were also times when she felt that her strengths weren’t being put to good use on the talk show.
‘The View’ criticized
In May, Rosie O’Donnell criticized the talk show and said that she stopped watching The View a long time ago.
“I don’t watch it anymore because it upsets me, and because I think it’s been [expletive] a lot. Everyone seems to think they have their two-minute sound bite and they want to get everything in but in the old days, The View had much more of a real conversation happening live, and it doesn’t feel like that’s happening anymore,” she told the Daily Beast.
Rosie, Whoopi tensions on the set
Last year, O’Donnell also detailed the tensions between her and Whoopi Golberg. In the book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, O’Donnell called Goldberg mean.
“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,” she said.
Before working with Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell said that she was a fan of the actress. After all, she was a feminist, and she’s also a legend.
“I’m never going to not have respect for Whoopi Goldberg. But that was a painful experience, personally and professionally,” Rosie O’Donnell said.
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