Rosie: Walters Tried to Mask 'View' War

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(Nov. 20) - Rosie O'Donnell may be in the thick of a publicity push for her upcoming variety show, but the comedienne just can't stop talking about her controversial tenure on "The View."
Talking to reporters on Wednesday, as described by the LA Times, O'Donnell offered up a not-so-rosy assessment of how things really went down when the cameras were off and she and her co-stars were backstage.
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Fight Faces on The View

    Barbara Walters is either about to make a great point or she's vying for a spot on 'Dancing With the Stars.' Here, she gets heated discussing Heather Mills. "She was extremely difficult," said Walters.

    Sherri Shepherd is totally going to eat your head. No, we're kidding, she's just laughing here. Shepherd became a permanent co-host on September 10, 2007 after numerous turns as a guest host on 'The View.'

    Rosie and Elisabeth look irate in their now-famous May 23, 2007 fight. Rosie was upset that Elisabeth failed to defend her friend against accusations that Rosie is anti-American.

    Rosie is going to go medieval on Elisabeth right about... NOW. This argument was the precursor to Rosie's departure from 'The View.' On May. 25, 2007, two days after the fight, Rosie asked to be released from her contract.

    "Oh no you didn't, Joy Behar." Before the feud with Rosie began in earnest, Joy disagreed with Elisabeth's statement that Bush has a solid plan to pull troops out of Iraq.

    Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck have trouble seeing eye to eye.

    Whoopi causes Elisabeth to cross her arms and glare. Elisabeth causes Whoopi to gesture wildly. Together, they cause us to lower the volume on our TVs.

    Barbara Walters gestures so fast when she's on a roll, she's like an angry hummingbird. This year has been especially volatile on 'The View' as election talk causes tempers to flare. Sole conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck is often at the center of controversy.

    An argument breaks out over tax relief and McCain's alleged similarities to Bush. As the fight heats up, Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck take center stage.

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Barbara Walters "wanted everyone to believe and think and act as if [the women on 'The View'] get along and are really good friends and happy and hang out together, and, you know, that's just not the reality."
"I'm not saying they loathe each other, but the fact of the matter is, there was not a lot of camaraderie off camera."
The problem, she believes, was the show's emphasis on talking about politics, which usually pitted liberal O'Donnell against token conservative, Elisabeth Hasselbeck. "Arguing about politics is not the best use of my talent," she said.
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Rosie Versus Barbara

Babs Responds to Rosie
Rosie Responds to Babs' Response

"I didn't grow up thinking, 'I hope I can talk about politics.' If you watch my stand-up comedy, I talk about my life, my family. It only became about [politics] with the job on 'The View.'"
In September, O'Donnell used the power of prose to offer her reaction to watching a fiery exchange on the show where Hasselbeck defended John McCain's choice in a running mate:
sarah p - elisabeth h
identical cousins
women who hunt in high heels
gives one pause
Just this week, O'Donnell also recorded herself watching Barbara Walters comment on their strained relationship and posted it on her Web site. There were plenty of exaggerated facial expressions courtesy of Rosie. Click Below to Watch:
Now with her variety show, "Rosie Live" airing Nov. 26, the comic is excited about returning to what she did best in her stand-up and talk-show prime:
"The job description here is to entertain," she said. "It will be an hour of fun, laughter, singing and dancing. No politics. No arguing. No talking about controversial things. That, to me, is what is needed now."
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FIGHT!

    The tensions have simmered between 'Trek' co-stars William Shatner and George Takei for decades. But it's Shatner who leashes out in a nasty YouTube video after he's left off Takei's wedding guest list.

    Illustration: PopEater/Photo Credit: Getty Images

    Andy Samberg's seemingly harmless impression of him on 'Saturday Night Live' didn't sit well with Mark Wahlberg, who told the NY Post that "it wasn't like Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin, that's for sure." He went on to say he's turned down offers to host the late-night staple "a ton of the times."

    NBC / Getty Images

    The war of fists between the Blonsky and Golden families has turned into a war of words, as Blonsky now says she is "completely destroyed" by their July airport brawl.

    Marcel Thomas, FilmMagic.com (1) / Jamie McCarthy, WireImage.com (2)

    Mischa Barton vs. Victoria Beckham: The actress has launched a one-woman, and ultimately one-sided, fashion battle with the extremely stylish Spice Girl. "Posh doesn't strike me as particularly stylish," she said. "I don't think she's a good example of British style at all."

    Getty Images (2)

    Dennis Quaid vs. Meg Ryan: The former husband and wife who divorced in 2001 are feuding again, as Ryan has said in multiple interviews that Quaid's infidelity caused her to have an affair.

    Getty Images

    Pat O'Brien vs. Lara Spencer : Pat O'Brien, former host and current correspondent of 'The Insider' wrote an email to staffers this weekend, slamming his colleague Lara Spencer. He suggested Spencer's most popular work "makes the viewers want to vomit." Nice.

    Frank Micelotta, Getty Images

    Roger Ebert vs. Lou Lumenick: Thyroid cancer has literally left Ebert speechless, so when his sightline was obstructed during a screening this week, the critic tried repeatedly to use tapping and gestures to get the attention of the guy in front of him. That dude was rival critic Lou Lumenick, who probably didn't think it through before hitting Ebert on the leg.

    Seth Perlman, AP

    Alec Baldwin vs. Greg Garcia: One day after Alec Baldwin criticized 'My Name Is Earl' in the New Yorker, the show's creator/executive producer Greg Garcia took a few jabs at Baldwin, calling him a "psychotic narcissist."

    Getty Images (2)

    Elton John and Lily Allen took a few under-the-belt shots at each other while they hosted the GQ Men of the Year awards in Britain. John went after Allen's drinking and she shot back and made fun of his age.

    Dave M. Benett, Getty Images

    "Evil spawn Angelina Jolie and her vacuous hubby Brad Pitt make about forty million dollars a year in violent psychopathic movies and give away three of it to starving children trying to look as if they give a crap about humanity," Roseanne Barr writes on her blog. She also criticizes the couple for not supporting Barack Obama.

    WireImage.com / Getty Images

Guests slated to appear on "Rosie Live" include Alec Baldwin, Liza Minnelli, Kathy Griffin and Jane Krakowski. If the show is a hit, O'Donnell expects to produce several more specials starting in the new year.
The issue of gay marriage came up, and O'Donnell brushed off questions on why she hasn't been raising her voice about the passing of Proposition 8, denying California couples same-sex marriage. "This is nothing new for me. When I got married it was an act of civil disobedience as much as it was a love story. There is not any person in the country who doesn't know I'm for gay marriage."
"I'm not vocal enough? I got married before anyone else did. I've been living it and living it for a very long time."
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2008-11-20 09:07:00
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