Rosie O’Donnell says Whoopi Goldberg was ‘mean’ to her on The View
Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg in 2010 (Jason Kempin/Getty)
Lesbian actress and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell has said that Whoopi Goldberg was “as mean as anyone has ever been” to her on television when they co-hosted The View.
O’Donnell made the comments in a new book called Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View by Ramin Setoodeh, where it was revealed that she repeatedly clashed with Goldberg.
She said: “The worst experience I’ve ever had on live television was interacting with her.”
Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg reportedly clashed over comments about Roman Polanski
It was also revealed in the book that O’Donnell was drafted in to “save the show” in 2014—but there was apparently already bad blood between her and Goldberg.
O’Donnell and Goldberg reportedly clashed in 2009 when Goldberg claimed that Roman Polanski was not guilty of “rape rape”—despite the fact that he had pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 13 year old girl, according to People.
Goldberg’s comments were publicly condemned by O’Donnell, which led to an angry exchange of letters.
“I’m never going to not have respect for Whoopi Goldberg. But that was a painful experience, personally and professionally.”
– Rosie O’Donnell on her relationship with Whoopi Goldberg
While working together on The View, things apparently got worse. O’Donnell claimed in the book that she suggested they start their morning meeting half an hour earlier and that they should cover the allegations of sexual assault against Bill Cosby—but she said Goldberg didn’t agree.
“Some people would say, ‘What’s going on with you and Whoopi?’” O’Donnell says in the book. “I was like, ‘Are you watching the show? It’s pretty much right there.’ I have no desire for a public feud.”
Mike Coppola/Getty
Elsewhere in the book, O’Donnell said she has always had great respect for Goldberg.
“She’s a minority, feminist, smart, funny, groundbreaking legend who is black in America.
“I’m never going to not have respect for Whoopi Goldberg. But that was a painful experience, personally and professionally.”
Rosie O’Donnell also revealed she had ‘a little bit of a crush’ on Elisabeth Hasselbeck
Those are not the only revelations in the book. O’Donnell also revealed that she had “a little bit of a crush” on her The View co-star Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
“Not that I wanted to kiss her,” O’Donnell said of her conservative counterpart on the show. “I wanted to support, raise, elevate her, like she was the freshman star shortstop and I was the captain of the team.”
She also quipped that there were “underlying lesbian undertones on both parts,” alluding to Hasselbeck’s past as a softball player.
Hasselbeck responded to O’Donnell’s claims by saying it was “disturbing” and “offensive.”
She went on to say that if the comments had come from a man they would be seen as “objectification of women in the workplace,” though the pair have not worked together for more than a decade.
She added: “That is disturbing and it’s wrong. And whether you’re a man or whether you’re a woman, and you’re objectifying women in the workplace, it’s wrong.”
She continued: “I totally forgive you, Rosie. I really hope that we can be at peace and that we can both hold our beliefs in one hand and hold each other’s hand in the other and still have a relationship that’s at peace.”
