Will Rosie Leave "View" Early?

(CBS/AP)  In the wake of the heated argument between "The View" co-hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Elizabeth Hasselbeck, the show's immediate future remains unclear.

Today's show was pre-empted by President Bush's press conference. A source at the show said that executive producer Barbara Walters didn't address Wednesday's fight except to say that O'Donnell was out because she is celebrating her partner's birthday.

Guest host comedian Kathy Griffin made several jokes about the fight, but for the most part, the show was uneventful.

In a posting on O'Donnell's blog, she wrote: "a split screen, new heights, or lows, depending on who u ask."

In the "Ask Ro" section of O'Donnell's Web site, a fan wrote: "I would walk. (W)ork isn't worth that battle."

"(A)greed," O'Donnell responded.

Personal and political tensions erupted on "The View" Wednesday when O'Donnell and Hasselbeck resurrected their fight about O'Donnell's comments on U.S. involvement in Iraq and terrorists.

Last week, O'Donnell said that 650,000 Iraqis have died since the United States invasion and asked "who are the real terrorists in Iraq?" angering many conservative pundits. On Monday, Hasselbeck said that O'Donnell should explain what she really meant.

But it didn't die there. The fight got started again when Rosie said she is criticized because she is a "fat lesbian" and Elizabeth is pure, innocent and Christian. O'Donnell called Hasselbeck cowardly for not defending her and Hasselbeck said: "I'll tell you what's cowardly, asking a rhetorical question that you cannot answer yourself."

Hasselbeck discussed the war of words in an interview with syndicated entertainment show "Extra" that was to air Wednesday evening.

"I honestly think, I believe that we are mature women who can resolve," she said. "I hope we can. I would hope that a disagreement or a heated debate wouldn't be the end of a relationship."

O'Donnell and Hasselbeck have gone head to head many times during O'Donnell's tenure on "The View."

---

Photos: Rosie O'Donnell

---

Now, it appears that Rosie will not be on the show Thursday. On her blog she posted a note saying, "tomorrow kelli turns 40. i will not be at work." She was referring to her partner, Kelli Carpenter.

This is not O'Donnell's first controversy. Earlier this year, she was involved in a contentious feud with real-estate mogul Donald Trump.

"It's a lot easier to fight people like Donald Trump, isn't it, because he's obnoxious!" Hasselbeck said Wednesday morning.

O'Donnell, who has only three weeks left at "The View," said she wanted to know what Hasselbeck personally thought she meant.

2"What I was asking is, you, who actually knows me, do you believe I think our troops are terrorists, Elizabeth?" she said.

When Hasselbeck, who is married to New York Giants backup quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, began to speak, O'Donnell cut her off, demanding a yes or no answer and said that Elizabeth would "double speak."

"I am not a double-speaker and I don't put suggestions out there that lead people to think things and not answer my own question," Hasselbeck shot back. "...I don't believe that you believe troops are terrorists, I have said that before, but when you say something like 650,000 Iraqis are dead …"

"It's true, you don't like the facts!" O'Donnell said.

"I am all about facts, you know that. You tell me not to use facts and to only go on emotion. Guess what? I like facts. I like them," Hasselbeck said.

"But you hide behind the ones you like. You cherry pick them," O'Donnell said.

The discussion became so heated that the producers skipped a commercial break. They went to a split screen of Hasselbeck and O'Donnell's faces, both of which were full of emotion.

---

Photos: The Famous & Their Feuds

---

"I wanted to know what people like you, but you are my friend since September, do you believe I think our troops are terrorists?" O'Donnell said. "And you wouldn't even look me in the face, Elizabeth, and say, 'No, Rosie, I can understand how people might have thought that, why don't you take an opportunity,' like I'm six."

"Because you are an adult and — and I am certainly not going to be the person for you to explain — for you to explain your thoughts. They're your thoughts! Defend your own thoughts!" Hasselbeck said. "Defend your own insinuations!"

Guest co-host Sherri Shepherd and co-host Joy Behar tried to lighten the mood and after a while Behar couldn't contain her groans. At one point, she and Shepherd tried to leave the table.

Finally Behar exclaimed: "What are we, on PBS? Who is directing this show? Let's go to commercial!"

O'Donnell is due to leave the show in June.

[justme51-2009]

I forgot to add "what has happened to some of
these talk shows?" They are suppose to be Fun
and The View turned into a heated political
arena.

[justme51-2009]

I didn't care Rosie is a lesbian and I never
considered her fat as I had a friend who was
much heavier.
It seemed she was always talking about Bush and
she would also cut down other people as well. It
also seemed like she would lump all Christians
in the same category. I got tired of it and
quit watching.

[sevenveils]

A rose is a rose unless its Rosie O'Donnell. If you put a turban and a beard on her she looks just like Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. What is scary is her logic, and hand gestures are practically identical as well.

[lil_one_g]

FINALLY rosie is off the tv!!! The View isn't jerry springer! Everyone is entitled their own opinion however, Rosie thinks that her opinion should alwys be the loudest. She takes things to personally to have a civilized debate. The initial arguement btwn the two happend a couple days before this disgracefull incident and yet Rosie keeps dragging it on.

Most of the things that Elisabeth says, i disagree w/ but Rosie wanted Elisabeth to "back her up." What is this ... elementary? My crew vs. your crew kind of thing? Elisabeth is not responsible for Rosie's insinuations. Rosie is juvenile and degrades the show. I give a lot of credit to Elisabeth for standing her ground. The troops need the support of the American ppl.

[lil_one_g]

FINALLY rosie is off the tv!!! The View isn't jerry springer! Everyone is entitled their own opinion however, Rosie thinks that her opinion should alwys be the loudest. She takes things to personally to have a civilized debate. The initial arguement btwn the two happend a couple days before this disgracefull incident and yet Rosie keeps dragging it on.

Most of the things that Elisabeth says, i disagree w/ but Rosie wanted Elisabeth to "back her up." What is this ... elementary? My crew vs. your crew kind of thing? Elisabeth is not responsible for Rosie's insinuations. Rosie is juvenile and degrades the show. I give a lot of credit to Elisabeth for standing her ground. The troops need the support of the American ppl.

[lil_d3vil]

Who needs a "Paid friend"??? Good Riddance Rosie

[kailumego1]

it's interesting how you hypocrites slam Rosie for being outspoken, "jump-up-and-down" over her being let out of her contract, however, post 300+ pages of protest when Imus calls black college athletes "nappy-headed hoes" and is fired from his job.

I may not have agreed with everything Rosie said, however, she was more open-minded than the narrow-minded racist Elizabeth Hasselbeck and most definitely the majority of posters.


Rosie speaks her mind, which that's why they offered her the spot on the View, and you people castigate calling her everything from a "fat cow" to a loud mouth lesbian, but wrinkled-up-massively scary ugly Imus spouts his racist, sexist propaganda over the loud speaker and you moronic fools cry "freedom of speech", but let's burn Rosie at the stake.


This really demonstrates how narrow-minded oxymoronic racist some individuals are, it's OK for Imus to spout racist rhetoric, but Rosie gets called obscenities for speaking the truth minus the rhetoric propaganda.....

[kailumego1]

The View's ratings skyrocketed due to Rosie's bluntness and outspokenness; they let her out of her contract probably on her insistence. She wanted to get away from that boring obnoxious simpleminded Elizabeth Hasselbeck that's why she left early.

You people complain about Rosie's views as being to extreme or radical, but the ratings says something entirely different.
If Rosie was so bad, I guarantee she would have been gone a long time ago, it's because intellectually moral rational individuals wanted to see here, notwithstanding, the few Republican imperialist extremist that vehemently complained.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck is a moron and an idiot, and those that continue to sling mud at Rosie while supporting Elizabeth's unilateral myopic view, only demonstrates "birds of a feather flock together".

[kailumego1]

And for all the moronic individuals castigating Rosie, about the comment she made about the troops, if you get your "head-out-of-your-a##" and think outside the box, looking from an Iraqi's perspective the troops would be considered terrorist, because they invaded Iraq.

However, it's not the troops that are terrorist, but this government with its fascist%u2019s leader George W. Bush and gun-toting sidekick *** Cheney.

You same individuals would have an entirely different viewpoint if Russia or China decided to invade U.S. soil, they would be considered terrorist.
Where do you people come up with such ridiculous logic??? You all can't be that "dumb" or brainless?????

According to England, during the Revolutionary War, we were considered as terrorist or insurgents, which was ridiculous. So, how can you people legitimately argue that we are not terrorist for invading Iraq, are you that feebleminded or insane.

The producers should have kicked Elizabeth Hasselbeck off the View a long time ago; she is the moronic fool that can%u2019t think outside her bias conservative baseless ideology throwing a diatribe.

[rfield9]

notsoliberal -

Rosie, as per normal, framed that challenge
under a false premise that it was Liza H's
inherent obligation, to simply volunteer that
she knew Rosie didn't mean the troops were
terrorists. It is not her obligation as a friend,
or as anyone else to do that. When you are
puzzled by somebody's comments, you don't
take as your first step to vouch for them.
You ask for clarification, which is what EH
did.

But as I said, it was a set-up payback, by the
show's producer and LH. Even Behar was surprised
they were not going to commercial. Real disagreement, staged confrontation, Rosie the
target, Rosie the deserver of it.

All in all - not so bad an outcome. Liza gets
illuminated again for buying into NeoFacist
propaganda, Rosie gets blindsided on national
TV and dropped by Walters 3 weeks early, for
being a *** all year.

This is the spirit of compromise we need to
get back to in America... ;-)