Suburbarazzi

It’s not clear whether Manilow’s decision not to appear on today’s episode of “The View” was more of an insult to Elisabeth Hasselbeck (who he refused to be interviewed by), a show of solidarity with Rosie O’Donnell (who Manilow is good friends with), or actually a dis of Manilow himself. But, well, I’m going to bet it’s explanation No. 3.

Apparently Manilow demanded that the show not have right-winger Hasselbeck on the stage at the same time and the folks at ABC said, basically, nuh-uh. As producer Bill Geddie put it on Barbara Walters’ weekly SIRIUS radio show, “He said, ‘I’ll do Barbara and Whoopi or I’ll do Whoopi and Sherri or some combination, but I won’t sit with Elisabeth,’ and I said ‘Well, then you won’t be on the show. It’s that simple. And that was the end of it. He’s not going to call the shots. You’re not going to tell me how to produce the show.”

Could this be the start of a trend? Will other left-leaning celebs like Susan Sarandon start canceling their appearances? Is a Rosie-inspired boycott in the offing?

Most important of all, Does anyone even watch “The View” anymore?

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Drumroll, please. Here, with a heavy heart and a pained grimace, I present you with the 100th Suburbarazzi post about Rosie O’Donnell. Yes, we counted.
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The latest news on the South Nyack rabble-rouser is that, while doing stand-up before a 1,500-person audience on her cruise for gay and lesbian families, she explained part of the reason she didn’t get “The Price is Right” gig.

Naturally, she also lashed out, again, against her twin nemiseses (nemisee?) Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Donald Trump. Which of course is hardly news. But what did shock a few was the persistent level of vitriolic hate fir Hasselbeck and the bizarre threat she made towards The Donald. Us Weekly even shows a giant photo of the former that she doctored up to look like the devil.

As for “The Price is Right,” part of the reason CBS passed is that she wanted to “gay it up.” Some excerpts from the show are after the break.

After the break, find out the answer to this week’s quiz question: Which local stand-up comedian received early show business advice from the late father of Tarrytown product and fellow stand-up Greg Fitzsimmons?

Download:

In an “Access Hollywood” segment slated to air tonight, “The View” panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck says she is questioning her friendship with South Nyack resident Rosie O’Donnell, People magazine is reporting.

Here’s Hasselbeck’s take on the situation:

Truthfully, I think a friend is someone who you have positive communications with, so I don’t know if I would define us as friends right now. I did define us as friends, but I’m not going to make the leap to assume that we will or will not be friends in the future.

Assuming they are still “friends,” together they are about as enjoyable as the former NBC sitcom of the same name: Fun for the first year, intolerable every year after that. (Just kidding. “Friends” wasn’t that bad; I just didn’t care for it.)

South Nyack’s Rosie O’Donnell and her former “View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck may have moved past their week-old feud, but their fans sure haven’t. Witness FireElisabethHasselbeck.com, a website with the goal of convincing “ABC to fire Elisabeth Hasselbeck from The View to ensure that all reasonable views can continue to be heard.”

As of noon today, the site already had 24,200 signatures in its online petition.

via TV Squad

(Photo: Yolanda Perez/ABC)

Yesterday on RNN, Suburbarazzi’s Chris Serico talked about Rosie O’Donnell’s “Nuclear Wednesday” and the fallout from her feud with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, as well as John Schneider’s quest to sell the General Lee and Jimmy Fink’s 1980 firing from WPLJ.

Check it out below:

Download the full RNN segment:

March 6: South Nyack’s Rosie O’Donnell discusses “American Idol,” which hasn’t had a Lower Hudson Valley resident make the Top 24 since the previous season. On “The View,” the full-figured O’Donnell says “Idol” is “weight-ist” in light of producers’ lenient treatment of the lean Antonella Barba versus its quick disposal of the plus-sized Frenchie Davis.

April 25: O’Donnell, who later is named the country’s sixth-most charitable celebrity, announces she’ll be leaving “The View”; the announcement comes mere hours before the first “Idol Gives Back” charity episode airs.

May 22: On her blog, O’Donnell posts herself singing along with a remix of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” Later that day, “Idol” contestants sing for the last time before producers voters pick a champ.

May 23: O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck get into an epic 10-minute argument on “The View.” Another epic battle comes to an end later that day, when Jordin Sparks becomes the new “American Idol”—and inspires singers nationwide to audition for Season 7.

May 25: O’Donnell quits “The View.” Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this.

(AP file photo by Jim Sulley)

In a video post to her r blog, Rosie O’Donnell confirmed rumors that her friend and “View” producer Janette Barber did indeed draw a mustache onto a photo of Elisabeth Hasselbeck following last Wednesday’s on-air feud—or as O’Donnell called it, “Nuclear Wednesday.”

Janette is in the naughty corner, she explained. “It was only one photo, people, and it was a magazine cut-out.” The producer was turned in by another staffer and was soon after escorted out of the building. “Poor Janette was crying,” O’Donnell said, adding that it was a “cute little joke on the way out. … It was really a spur of the moment, on the way out – she couldn’t resist.”

O’Donnell also spoke openly for the first time about her tumultuous last week on the show, especially her bitterness about the producers going to split-screen, refusing to go to commercial, and her co-star’s refusal to defend her. “It was shocking to me. When you’re in a Broadway show, that spirit of community and teamwork—if somebody makes a mistake, you cover their line. Everybody works in unison for one common show. But not on that show. It was odd.”

Rosie also posted another of her trademark free-verse poems, describing the beautiful spring scenery near her South Nyack home … and her desire to move on:

the air by west point
past the bear mountain bridge
smells like seattle
green and glorious …

the ?s will b back soon
but no more view ones
as we all try to move on
ok

peace out

Let us all have a moment of silence.

OK, now what the hell happened?

Rosie O’Donnell wasn’t supposed to exit “The View” until June 20, her one-year anniversary. And indeed, even on last Wednesday’s show, in which the South Nyack resident got into her now-infamous war of words with Elisabeth Hasselbeck over the Iraq war, she was still talking about her three remaining weeks on the show.

O’Donnell even asked guest Elizabeth Mitchell, of “Lost,” how she pulls off her icy “Others” death stare—in part because she suggested it would come in handy while dealing with her conservative co-host in the coming days. But yesterday, ABC dropped another Rosie bombshell: Brian Frons, the president of the network’s daytime television group, said that O’Donnell would not be returning after Memorial Day weekend.

After Wednesday’s heated exchange between O’Donnell and Hasselbeck, she didn’t return on air for the rest of the week. Thursday’s show was preempted for a White House news conference with the President, and Friday’s show was pretaped. Barbara Walters had issued a statement late in the week saying that O’Donnell had asked for time off to celebrate her partner’s birthday, and that all would be peaceful in the kingdom of “The View” next week. In retrospect, Walters comments now seem more like a verdict than obsequious optimism.

“We had hoped that Rosie would be with us until the end of her contract three weeks from now, but Rosie has informed us that she would like an early leave,â€? Mr. Frons explained. “Therefore we part ways, thank her for her tremendous contribution to ‘The View’ and wish her well.â€?

In her own statement, also released through ABC, O’Donnell said, “I’m extremely grateful. It’s been an amazing year, and I love all three women.” And as hard as that may be to believe on the surface, in a video posted to her rblog yesterday, she recapped her tumultuous year at “The View” in a kind of scrapbook montage of clippings and photos. Titled “True Colors 2007,” the vid even including many of Hasselbeck right near the beginning (none of Trump that I could see, though). Cyndi Lauper’s “Sisters of Avalon” played in the background.

So folks, you know it’s true. If you’re hearing Cyndi Lauper-scored retrospectives, it’s over for good. A tear.

Godspeed, Rosie.

“Rosie fights last fight on ‘The View’” [LoHud]

 

When I posted a new poll yesterday, asking who won the latest bout of O’Donnell vs. Hasselbeck, I added a few jokey answers like Jordin and Trump. Turns out the latter actually wasn’t so tongue in cheek afterall. Last night on Extra, Trump chimed in:

“Elisabeth [Haselbeck] is not a very smart person… one of the dumber people in television. To see that she supports the war… only an imbecile could do that.”

In other words, with Rosie all but out of the picture, Trump may have found his newest whipping gal on The View. Awesome.

Also of interest, The New York Post reports that after Wednesday’s shouting match between Rosie and Elisabeth, Rosie’s chief writer, Janette Barber, allegedly began turning all the photos of Hasselbeck hanging around the ABC office into Captain Morgan ads. Which is to say, she was drawing mustaches over that pretty little mouth, and then was reportedly escorted from the building. Even more awesome.

Finally, as to whether this is just a clever ratings ploy (shudder to think!), TV Guide says that Barbara Walters calls that theory “just absurd.” Never mind that it all went down on the final day of sweeps.

(Trump: AP Photo/Stephen Chernin-File; O’Donnell: AP/Norwegian Cruise Lines; Hasselbeck: ABC, Yolanda Perez)

What follows is a line by line review of yesterday’s ten-minute smackdown, with points awarded to all those involved. Did your favorite win? Keep reading…

• In the beginning, when Joy tries to say something, Rosie responds: “Wait, Joy.â€?

  1 point for Rosie. Way to control the table.
  -1 point for Joy. She actually �waited� when Rosie told her to.
  

• When Rosie tries to get Elisabeth to answer, “Did Iraq attack us on 9/11?â€? she snaps, “I’m saying our enemies, Al Quaeda [attacked us]. Are you hearing that?â€? Rosie appears to be taken back by the blonde’s sudden attack. “Um, I hear it…â€?

  1 point for Elisabeth…for that added bit of rudeness. Why stay civil?
  -1 point for Rosie…for stuttering. The ‘pure little Christian� got the better of her there.

• Elisabeth uses the analogy: “If you’re playing a game, and you’re going to say, okay I’m going to throw to my wide receiver, wide right. Do you do that? I’m going to do that in two seconds. What does that do for your enemy? Rosie responds, “Well you know what Elisabeth? If the enemies are innocent civilians I don’t want to play that kind of football.â€?

  -1 point for Elisabeth, for recycling tired political talking point mumbo jumbo… the war as a sport’s game? Please.
  1 point for Rosie for choosing not to play. I only like to play football with military combatants as well!

  (more…)

Hasselbeck was interviewed by TV Guide this week. The conservative View co-host called the past year on the show, “exhilarating. And fun.� She squashed rumors that Rosie “the bully� has made her cry multiple times: “Underneath these blonde highlights, I’m a fighter.�

Here’s what else she had to say:

Ro and I have become friends. We e-mail each other, we talk about art, we go out together with our kids. I feel such trust for her. Because we so openly take such opposite positions politically, we have made a concerted effort to get to know each other personally.

On whether Rosie is or isn’t “obnoxious�:

I’d like to know the last time someone called a man out there, who was giving an opinion backed up with fact, “loudmouth.� It takes a man to say something completely heinous, chauvinistic and racist for people to even bat an eye.

The official word came at the opening of today’s show. “Breaking news,� the combative South Nyack comedian said, before announcing she would not be returning next year as a full time co-host (her last show will be in late June). O’Donnell said she couldn’t come to terms with ABC management over her contract. Some sources say she was asking for as much as $40 million a year. On the show, O’Donnell mentioned only one reason for the negotiation breakdown: ABC wanted her for three years, she only wanted to commit to one.

But it’s not all bad news for Rosie fans. She said she would be returning from time to time to guest host and do one-hour specials on topics such as autism. “I’m not going away,� she said.

She also told her co-hosts (and the audience) not to be “sad.�

But Barbara Walters, who was sitting next to Rosie, responded, “I am.�

She added, “We have had, to say the least, an interesting year.� It was “fun-filled and provocative.�

“You will be missed,� she told O’Donnell.

Joy Behar brought up the elephant in the room: Donald Trump. “He’s on a ledge right now,� she said, adding it’s been an “exciting year.�

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Rosie’s frequent conservative on-air sparring partner, had kind words for the woman she called a “catalyst.� This last year felt, she said, like “we’ve taken off the shackles and had some purely honest conversations.�

For her part, Rosie conceded she “kicked it up a notch,� before telling Walters she was the reason she agreed to do the show, because, she said, she’d do anything Walters asked her to. “You’re a legend, a living legend.�

For fans, detractors, and everyone else who tuned in to see what she would say next, Rosie had some advice: “I’ll still be on my blog.�

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Forty-five years ago, on this—the 21st day of March—a tiny star ignited in the magical kingdom of Queens. And this star was called, according to wikipedia.org, Roseann Teresa O’Donnell. Roseann drifted and flickered and faded poignantly, as sad celestial vagrants do until, 44 years later, a dazzling galaxy named Suburbarazzi emerged from the blogosphere and landed with a bang in LoHudLand. The result was spectacular.

Rosie, over the past year we’ve been through a lot together. Without your fiery feuds with The Donald, and Oprah, and Star, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and, well, everyone else, we’d have about as many hits as Juggling Acts. I guess, what we’re really trying to say is: Dearest Rosie, without you there would be no us. So, in honor of the miraculous day of your birth, we hereby declare this National SuburbaRosie Day. Please, take the day off. Blog. Write cryptic poetry. Hang upside down. We will commemorate the day with multiple posts in your honor and, of course, a 50 Koosh salute.

Woosh…Woosh…Woosh …Woosh…Woosh… Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…
Woosh…Woosh…Woosh …Woosh…Woosh… Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…
Woosh…Woosh…Woosh …Woosh…Woosh… Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…
Woosh…Woosh…Woosh …Woosh…Woosh… Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…
Woosh…Woosh…Woosh …Woosh…Woosh… Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…

Thank you, Rosie. Thank you. And Happy 45th.

The New York Post reports the petite co-host was left in tears after a taping Wednesday, when O’Donnell told the outspoken conservative on air: “Elisabeth, you are very young and you are very wrong.” According to the newspaper, Hasselbeck accused Rosie of “ageism” and “broke down later.”

A source at the show told the paper, “Elisabeth just can’t take it any more…her days there are numbered. She is looking to leave.” Apparently, the former Survivor castaway is in talks with E!, where she’ll find another former petite blonde View-ette, Debbie Matenopoulos (remember her?).

For her part, Rosie did apologize…on her blog: “i said some of elisabeth’s comments were ignorant which was ignorant itself.”