Rosie O’Donnell has quit The View and she will depart after the next week of episodes. Though there had been rumors of discord since her return this season, the sudden departure mid-season has left many fans stunned. The official word is that she is leaving to focus on her family after splitting with wife, Michelle Rounds, recently. Now O’Donnell herself is opening up to share a bit more.
O’Donnell tells Entertainment Tonight that her departure has nothing to do with tensions with others on the show. Rather, she says, it’s about her heart. Rosie says that those with Disney have been amazing and understood that given what is happening with her personally, she needed to leave the show.
The talk show host explains.
“It’s not about anybody else. It never was and it never will be.”
As People notes, buzz has been building for months that things have been tense with Rosie behind the scenes. It has been said that she essentially expected to lead the show in her second return, despite the fact that Whoopi Goldberg has that moderator spot now. Supposedly Rosie grew more and more frustrated not only with Whoopi having that spot, but also with Goldberg having strong views on things that aligned very much opposite of O’Donnell’s passionate views.
The People insider says that if it had only been about the on-set tension, Rosie would have stuck with The View for the remainder of the season. However, O’Donnell and Rounds quietly split in November and this has become a crisis point for Rosie and her family.
O’Donnell’s rep Cindi Berger said, via a statement, that Rosie’s infant with Michelle and her teens with ex-partner Kelli Carpenter need their mom’s attention at home. Berger adds that it’s been a very stressful situation and Rosie is putting her family and health first.
As many fans will remember, Rosie had a near-fatal heart attack during the summer of 2012. Her estranged wife, Michelle Rounds, also dealt with a medical challenge around the same time, having discovered and recovered from a rare tumor. The two quietly wed in June, 2012, and soon after, adopted daughter Dakota. Rosie and Michelle now say they split last November.
ABC has not yet announced anything regarding a new co-host to take Rosie’s chair. In all likelihood they will bring in a rotation of guest hosts, much as they’ve done with past departures. O’Donnell is still slated to appear in a multi-episode arc of ABC Family’s The Fosters , where she plays Rita Hendricks. The character of Hendricks first appeared in the first season, and she will return for five episodes yet to air this season.
Did Rosie O’Donnell make the right call on quitting The View given her family situation? Who should the show bring on to take her place?
[Image via Softpedia ]