Back in 2015, Rosie O’Donnell made headlines for her abrupt departure as a co-host on ‘The View.’ At the time, O’Donnell mainly chalked her decision up to unnecessary friction between her and Whoopi Goldberg. Since then, the two had not spoken whatsoever, except for one chance encounter. In a new video interview with Howard Stern, O’Donnell candidly discussed elements of her life in quarantine, as well as how the run-in with Goldberg after all that had transpired between them made her feel.
To give context, O’Donnell explained that the issues between her and Goldberg started practically with the filming of their first episode of ‘The View’ together.
“From day one, she was upset with [me because] I threw to commercial,” O’Donnell told Stern in the candid interview. “I didn’t know that she saw the countdown. The guy was going like this.”
Stage directors typically signal live show hosts when it is time to go to commercial, and O’Donnell was unaware that it was Goldberg’s unofficial responsibility given it was her first day.
“Now, listen, she’s been there forever. Maybe that’s normal. I saw that there was a pause, and I said, ‘We’ll be right back after this.’ That was the first day and then there was trouble from then on,” she recounted to Stern.
O’Donnell explained the social situation among the cast members turned for the worse after that, “There were cliques, so I’d come out of my dressing room and they’d all be going to lunch and they’d look at me and I’d go, ‘Bye.’ It was like high school again in a way. I was assuming that I was coming in to be part of an ensemble, right? Throw the ball back and forth, everybody shoot, everybody take a shot.”
The former host explained that she does not speak to Goldberg anymore, but she did have a chance encounter with her that was a bit awkward, “I don’t hate her but I feel very awkward around her now. When you know someone doesn’t like you, it’s kind of weird. We bumped into each other.”
“I went to see Megan Mullally and her husband’s band at I think Cafe Carlyle. I was meeting Ally Sheedy there. She wasn’t there yet. I get out of my SUV and I’m walking into the venue,” O’Donnell said.
“I see another SUV pull up and I thought to myself, ‘I wonder who that is.’ I go into the venue and I turn around and who’s standing right next to me, Whoopi Goldberg?” she continued to recount.
“I go, ‘Hi,’ She’s like, ‘Oh hey, how you doing?’ She was so nice, so effusive. The maitre’d came over and said, ‘Oh, Ms. Goldberg, Ms. O’Donnell, table for two, come over this way.’ I’m like, ‘No no, we’re not sitting together.’ Whoopi said, ‘Would it be that bad?’ I was like, ‘No, I’m just meeting someone. I’m sure you are too. Good to see you.’ It was that awkward, horrible, yeah,” O’Donnell explained.
