Nope, you are most definitely not blinking as it is true that the one and only Rosie O’Donnell is returning to ABC’s The View this fall for its 18th season with moderator Whoopi Goldberg.
O’Donnell had only appeared on the talk show for one season back in 2007 and left following the iconic fight between her and co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck over a statement O’Donnell made and Hasselbeck’s comments on it.
The show is aiming to revamp its entire image, as Goldberg is the only other moderator currently involved in the project as Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepard were recently released as well. But it is not just the moderators as show co-creator Bill Geddie has exited in addition to several producers.
But what does O’Donnells return mean for the show? In the years since her departure she has gone on to work with Oprah Winfrey, have a radio show and even come out of the closet which is all fantastic for her own individual development but what will her re-entrance to set mean for viewers?
Here is a list of the top 10 reasons why Rosie O’Donnell’s return is a bad idea and one to regret.
image credit via ACE/INFphoto.com
[ new page = 10. The show is doing bad enough with its current ratings. ]
The show is doing bad enough with its current ratings.
Consider why The View is going under such an extreme makeover and you can see my point. With removing the shows co-creator, to producers to more hosts, the show is clearly in trouble as it has been going downhill for years now. So why is it that hiring Rosie back is going to fix everything? As there are people who love O’Donnell there are just as many who hate her and with her re-hire, ABC can kiss those viewers goodbye. O’Donnell’s return will place the show under a huge microscope to see how she behaves and how the program has changed and if it doesn’t work, it is going to be a nightmare. Was bringing back O’Donnell the best they could do? Considering the mess they are in, they sure hope so.
[ new page = 9. Rosie is extremely liberal. ]
Rosie is extremely liberal.
The show is lucky it is not on Fox because if it were, there would have been no way O’Donnell would be back and that is certain. The moderator has never kept quiet on her political thoughts as a liberal and while it is not the worst thing in the world, it can lead to major problems when people of different political views are on the show. It is great to have several different parts of view on a show like this but when one host remains so strapped to her political beliefs it can be messy. In a way it is her version of ‘my way or no way’ when it comes to her liberalism so who is for certain sure that bringing back this sort of attitude will help re-launch her career?
[ new page = 8. She is a bully. ]
She is a bully.
Has the public truly forgotten her argument between her and Donald Trump? No, and that is exactly the point. No one can truly ever forget a bully when they stomp on the small kid in the playground. I am in no way defending either party but when doing the research and re-watching the two argue over the Miss USA winner, I felt like I was watching the tough kid in elementary school swoop down and break my glasses before taking my lunch money. Not only can she be a bully to guests but also her co-hosts. One thing is for sure and it is that Rosie will make sure she gets the last word.
[ new page = 7. She is aggressive ]
She is aggressive.
Now this can be a good thing. Heck, it could even be a great thing but it could be an absolutely horrifying thing. Viewers have seen first hand how O’Donnell does not like to back down and will continue to persist until she is satisfied. Make her angry and it is all over or at least the next five minutes will be her and someone else arguing. While this may bring in viewers because everyone secretly loves drama, it will become exhausting and annoying to the point that you just may flip the channel when you catch a new episode of The View and find its just Rosie yelling at someone. ABC did not need to hire a guaranteed trouble finder and aggressor; they only needed good topics and polite discussion.
[ new page = 6. She is extremely opinionated. ]
6. She is extremely opinionated.
O’Donnell knows who she is and who she is not and she also knows what she agrees with and what she considers to be a waste of her time. While she understands where she stands on different issues, it may make it difficult for her to understand what guests or co-hosts are explaining. When dealing with opinionate people, discussions can eventually turn sour as they believe their thoughts and may not be willing to see another way of looking at the topic, which can become a problem for the show if O’Donnell acts this way. The discussions, especially the more controversial ones, can turn into battles of dominance on whose opinion is the right on but the right is no ones is right. That is the beauty of an opinion yet for O’Donnell, her opinion may be seen as her facts.
[ new page = 5. She has a big mouth. ]
She has a big mouth.
A culmination of all the prior topics discussed but this is a given, Rosie O’Donnell likes to talk and a lot. Sometimes it may feel that she never shuts up and no one wants a talk show hog. Thinking back on her blowout argument with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, while the two were arguing over each other Barbara Walters was calling for a commercial break that never came. At every moment that Hasselbeck stopped talking, O’Donnell jumped right back in with a new flare. Her inability to stay quiet may also be her Achilles heel, as she does not always think before speaking which lands her into trouble. Her big mouth may start arguments with guests if she makes a opinionated comment that offends a visitor and hey, doesn’t this sound like why O’Donnell left in the first place?
[ new page = 4. She argues with her co-hosts. ]
She argues with her co-hosts.
If O’Donnell is not getting the support or hearing what she likes from the people sitting next to her, she has no problem making sure they know it, As mentioned briefly this is where the Elisabeth Hasselbeck arguments truly comes to play. Back in 2007, O’Donnell had made a comment attempting to portray Iraq’s side of the United States invasion and it all just came out so wrong. O’Donnell had ended up alluding that in Iraq’s mind, we were the terrorists as we came into their home and killed their soldiers and civilians. Naturally the whole thing blew up in her face and when she asked for Hasselbeck to support her in believing that O’Donnell truly did not believe that our troops were terrorists, she hesitated and it got worse from there. No one needs a retake of that dreadful day.
[ new page = 3. She also argues with the guests. ]
She also argues with the guests.
The Donald Trump argument still has yet to go away as the name-calling continues between the two even now. While O’Donnells impression of Trump appeared harmless, it ended up being rudely intentional as she later said, “I don’t like him.” Trump made sure to backfire with his own comments calling her “lazy” and a “pig.” Argue with your cohost for the sake of some good television, go ahead but try not to insult your guest. This rule applies to all future View hosts as there was also the debacle with Bill O’Reilly where Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar walked out after being so disgusted by his comments.
[ new page = 2. She holds onto past arguments. ]
She holds onto past arguments.
It was just recently that O’Donnell returned to the show for a one time show near Valentine’s Day and everything ran smoothly if we minus the little hiccup of her comment, “Is Hasselbeck here? Just checking!” Think what you want, but if someone was truly over something, they do not bring it up. While it may seem harmless, it was still that small jab to remind everyone that Oh yeah, that happened. It is the tiniest of reminders that has certainly not forgotten what went down just a little under a decade ago. If she does this with all of her arguments, it may lead to more snarky comments and resentful acts for the future, which could hurt the show and her fellow future co-hosts.
[ new page = 1. TV was different in 2007. ]
TV was different in 2007.
With the medias rules and regulations constantly changing, television is a whole lot different than it was when she was first on the show back in 2007. Some of her attitudes and behaviors just may not fly with the network and the production team, which is something that O’Donnell will have to work on in their own time if they are truly hoping for success. The way she behaved could be considered highly inappropriate and in bad taste for a talk show host and if she chooses to remain in her own style then the show will have to work that angle to their best judgment. O’Donnell has not been in the hot seat for a while and now it is up to her what she is going to do with it.