Rosie O'Donnell

Barbara Walters 'Not Responsible' for Rosie's Rants

By Justin McCarthy | May 8, 2008 - 11:11 ET

Still shot of Barbara Walters from 5/7/2008 "I am not responsible" says Barbara Walters on Rosie O’Donnell’s extremist remarks on "The View." Appearing on the May 7 "O’Reilly Factor," host Bill O’Reilly brought up Rosie’s most controversial remarks, notably comparing "radical Christianity" to radical Islam and her famous 9-11 conspiracy theories editorializing it hurt Barbara as the founder and co-executive producer of the show.

Although Walters did not defend Rosie’s ravings, she refused to take responsibility asserting Rosie did not hurt her, "The View," or ABC. Additionally, the veteran journalist felt Rosie regrets some of those remarks. O’Reilly sharply disagreed and alluded to Rosie’s comments this week praising Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

The relevant portion of the transcript is below.

Barbara Walters Recalls Not-So-'Rosie' Season of 'View' For Oprah

By Justin McCarthy | May 6, 2008 - 18:18 ET

Absent from "The View" on May 6, Barbara Walters opted for "Oprah" to promote her new book "Audition." Inevitably the conversation included the tumultuous Rosie O’Donnell 2006-07 season. Barbara very carefully critiqued Rosie seeking to balance her criticisms with a compliments.

In describing Rosie’s sometimes obvious dominance, Barbara claimed Rosie "from day one took over the show" comparing Rosie to Diana Ross and the other co-hosts to the Supremes. Barbara also added Rosie "made some wonderful changes, but it was also very, very difficult."

Of course the famous on air fight between Rosie and Elisabeth Hasselbeck surfaced. The fight stemmed from those accusing Rosie of calling troops terrorists and Elisabeth refusing to defend Rosie. Barbara and Oprah agreed "she never said that." Although Rosie did not explicitly say "the troops are terrorists," her question "who are the terrorists?" certainly suggested it.

The conversation did not involve Rosie raising the possibility that 9-11 was in inside job and "fire can’t melt steel."

The transcript minus some discussion of Rosie O’Donnell’s feud with Donald Trump is below (video available here courtesy our friend Ms Underestimated):

Rosie O'Donnell: Rev. Wright 'Made Sense to Me'; People 'Confuse Passion for Rage'

By Ken Shepherd | May 5, 2008 - 12:12 ET

Rosie O'Donnell appeared on the May 5 "Today" show in its fourth hour, claiming that many have confused her "passion for rage" much in the same way as they've misunderstood Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Indeed, claimed the former "The View" co-host, Obama's former pastor "made sense to me." [Audio available here.]

O'Donnell also defended Wright's conspiracy theory view on AIDS, chalking that up to Wright's "genetic memory" of the Tuskegee Institute. O'Donnell incorrectly asserted the U.S. government infected the patients in that syphilis study.

Below is the transcript, taken down by NewsBusters resident O'Donnellogist Justin McCarthy (emphasis ours):

ABC's Sawyer Touts Rosie O'Donnell's 'Singular Take' on the World

By Scott Whitlock | April 8, 2008 - 14:13 ET

"Good Morning America's" Diane Sawyer featured noted 9/11 conspiracy theorist Rosie O'Donnell for over 15 minutes on Tuesday and failed to ask about any of her numerous controversial statements. Despite this, Sawyer did find the time to laud the former talk show host's "singular take on the world" and to make crafts with the hard core leftist who once asserted that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America."

Sawyer glossed over the controversial statements O'Donnell made during her tenure as a co-host of the ABC program "The View." At one point, the GMA co-anchor even admitted, "So, I don't want to go back and rehash all of 'The View' stuff again." Some of the "stuff" Sawyer might have been referring to, included telling the lone conservative voice on "The View," Elisabeth Hasselbeck, on November 9, 2006, "Don't fear the terrorists. They’re mothers and fathers." During her GMA appearance to promote a new book on crafts, O'Donnell stated that one factor in her quitting "The View" was control. For her earlier program, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "...There was no one with a conflicting point of view." In her role as an interviewer, Sawyer certainly offered no conflicting point of view and failed to ask tough questions.

Rosie O'Donnell Admits to Dropping Out of College with Low Grades

By Justin McCarthy | April 8, 2008 - 13:09 ET

Rosie O’Donnell, who once said it is "physically impossible" for fire to melt steel, shockingly revealed she did not make it through college. Promoting her new book "Crafty U" on the April 8 edition of "Martha," Rosie admitted she was not able to get through a real university. Rosie also recounted bitter memories from "The View."

Fawning over Martha Stewart’s intellect, Rosie implied she does not match up as she confessed to dropping out of Boston University with a 1.62 grade point average. She claimed she was too busy working at the local comedy club to focus on her classes. [Audio available here.]

Later in the same segment, Rosie discussed her experience on "The View" noting "it’s hard for me when I’m not the boss." This is stating the obvious for the viewers that witness her bully another co-host and nearly mistakenly referred to "The View" as "The Rosie O’Donnell Show." Rosie added "there was a little Republican who scared me," referring to Elisabeth Hasselbeck who stood up to Rosie in the end.

Rosie O'Donnell Blames Bush for Staph Infection

By Ken Shepherd | February 5, 2008 - 14:54 ET

Greg Pollowitz of NRO's Media Blog already beat me to the punch, but it bears repeating on NewsBusters. The only fresh angle I can bring to this is that, to my recollection, this is the first time Rosie O'Donnell has attempted an original blog post in prose. For the occasion she blamed President Bush for a nasty staph infection back in 2000.

I'm sure given enough time and inspiration from Joni Mitchell's greatest hits she can re-work her post into her groundbreaking poetry.

Without further ado, the relevant portion of her blog, unedited (lousy formatting left intact), with portions in bold reflecting my emphasis. Oh, by the way, what Rosie really wants you to get out of this anecdote is the importance of voting:

CBS’s Smith Wonders if Tape of U.S.- Iran Naval Conflict Was Fake

By Kyle Drennen | January 10, 2008 - 14:23 ET

At the top of Thursday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Harry Smith questioned the authenticity of an audio tape of the confrontation between U.S. and Iranian ships on January 6:

We're going to try to re -- to deconstruct the Pentagon tapes just released of that hostile incident in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian speedboats taunting a U.S. ship. A tape the Iranians are calling a hoax. There's something strange about the audio.

In the later segment on the issue, Smith talked to international security expert, Jeff McCausland, and again wondered if the Iranian hoax accusation had merit:

Iranian officials are calling this video a hoax, saying those voices sounded like they were recorded someplace else...As you have looked at this tape, listened to -- especially the English coming from the Iranians, does it ring authentic to you? Does it seem real?

Is Rosie Shooting for Poet Laureate at a Hillary Inaugural?

By Ken Shepherd | January 9, 2008 - 13:24 ET

Former "The View" co-host, 9/11 conspiracy theorist and left-wing warrior-poet Rosie O'Donnell set to verse her thoughts on Hillary's now-infamous tearing-up incident:

Rosie Voted 2007's Most Annoying Celebrity

By Lynn Davidson | December 28, 2007 - 12:14 ET

Rosie O'Donnell may have been one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, but now she is 2007's Most Annoying Celebrity. The woman who surprised blacksmiths everywhere when she claimed that fire can't melt steel trounced her competition in the Parade.com poll, getting 44% of the vote, nearly double the amount of second place winner Paris Hilton. Ann Coulter was third.

The woman who admitted that she's so gullible, she's “five seconds away” from joining a cult, also outed herself as a 9/11 Truther and floated several conspiracies. She doesn't think Al Qaeda is a threat--hey, they're mommies and daddies, too! 

But she knows who the real bad guys are. She called the US a state sponsor of terror and equated the military with terrorists. She claimed the captured British sailors were really part of a “false flag” operation (“Google it!”), and Ahmadinejad isn't all that bad. Don't worry, she is concerned about terrorists. She thinks the US is robbing 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed of his humanity by labeling him a “terrorist.” (Her sneer quotes, not mine.)

Here are some of the quotes that helped Rosie win her new title (bold mine):

Don't fear the terrorists. They’re mothers and fathers-11-09-07

The Worst 'Notable Quotables' of 2007

By Rich Noyes | December 28, 2007 - 11:14 ET

Before we ring in 2008, it's worth taking a look back at some of the liberal media's goofiest or most outrageous moments, courtesy of the Media Research Center's Best Notable Quotables of 2007: The Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting. The awards were determined by a panel of 53 distinguished media observers, including radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, editorial writers and informed media observers.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews was a big "winner" this year, taking the top slot in three categories -- the "Blue State Brigade Award for Campaign Reporting," the “Channeling the Nut Roots Award,” and the "Dynamic Duo Award for Idolizing Bill and Hillary," for (in order) gushing over Barack Obama, suggesting Bush and Cheney be tried for Nuremberg-style war crimes, and equating Bill Clinton with Jesus Christ. Oh, what a busy year he had.

Bozell Column: 2007, A Loony-Left Year

By Brent Bozell | December 19, 2007 - 08:01 ET

The end of 2007 doesn’t seem half as depressing to the conservative faithful as it was in the beginning. Democrats captured the Congress, sure. But now it’s their approval ratings that are in the toilet, and worst still, their rabid leftist base has turned on them for not being rabidly leftist enough. The presidential front-runners are no longer inevitable, not even Hillary Clinton’s buy one-get-one-free ticket. The economy is fairly strong, regardless of the pessimistic media coverage. We’ve had another year without America being successfully attacked by terrorists. The surge is working.

All this good news is driving the Left nuts, and nowhere is this more evident than in the national media, which is making no attempt to shake off their collective gloom-and-doom tone. As the good news began emanating from Iraq this fall, the McClatchy News Service, lauded by media leftists like Bill Moyers as having the smart reporters who always thought the Iraq War was a fight without a point, ran this headline:

"As Violence Falls in Iraq, Cemetery Workers Feel the Pinch."

O'Reilly Calls Rosie 'Wicked Witch of East;' Barbara Walters Laughs

By Justin McCarthy | December 6, 2007 - 13:20 ET

Barbara Walters did not defend Rosie O’Donnell against Bill O’Reilly’s "Wicked Witch of the East" comment, but laughed and diverted to complimenting Whoopi Goldberg. "Not defending" usually fires up the former "View" moderator as was best exemplified on Rosie’s last live "View."

The veteran journalist and "View" creator appeared on the December 5 edition of "The O’Reilly Factor" to promote her upcoming special "The Ten Most Fascinating People of 2007." After discussing the special, Bill O’Reilly moved on to "The View" and noted that the ratings are up from the "Wicked Witch of the East" era last season. It led to this exchange between Walters and O’Reilly.

'View' Panel Discusses Naming a Teddy Bear Jesus

By Justin McCarthy | December 3, 2007 - 16:53 ET

After discussing the British woman in Sudan charged for naming a class teddy bear Muhammad on Friday’s "View," with no outrage directed towards the Sudanese government, the ladies again discussed the topic. Barbara Walters inquired to the panel what would happen if someone named a teddy bear Jesus in the United States.

Unlike Rosie O’Donnell, who exclaimed "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam," Joy Behar, to her credit, said "Christians in this country would not be as uptight about it." Later she added "in the Sudan is that it’s, it’s state sanctioned there. Here it would just be an uproar from certain people." [Video embedded below the fold, courtesy of user pundital on YouTube]

The transcript of the conversation is below.

Rosie O’Donnell Calls President Bush a War Criminal

By Noel Sheppard | November 22, 2007 - 11:57 ET

After hearing Rosie O'Donnell's most recent despicable rant about the President, MSNBC should consider reopening discussions with the outspoken comedienne to get her on the cable network following Keith Olbermann's "Countdown."

In fact, it seems a slam dunk!

Consider comments O'Donnell made Monday at the 10th annual fundraiser for her charitable For All Kids Foundation.

As reported by Fox News.com, while "riffing and having fun from the dais during an auction of pricey gifts such as spending a day on the set of ‘Nip/Tuck' or taking a 14-day cruise in the Mediterranean on a luxury line," Rosie blurted out the following for her audience (emphasis added):

MSNBC President Admits: Lineup Tilts Leftward

By Matthew Sheffield | November 16, 2007 - 13:27 ET

Phil Griffin, president of MSNBC has finally admitted what everyone knew to be the case: his network's talk lineup tilts leftward. This type of admission is quite rare in media circles. Usually when high-level media types are confronted with evidence their product is biased, they issue silly blanket denials that anyone can see through as mere corporate shillery.

Griffin's admission came in a recent New York Times article which instead of being concerned about journalism's institutional credibility as it has when covering Fox News, predictably celebrated the network's decision to become the network for Bush haters:

NewsBusted Comedy Webcast, Episode 119

By Matthew Sheffield | November 13, 2007 - 07:12 ET

It's Tuesday which means another episode of "NewsBusted." Topics in this episode: Licenses for illegals, Hillary Clinton's tipping habits, Rosie O'Donnell.

Click the "play" icon at the top right of the sidebar to watch, you can also view this episode at YouTube or see our past episodes here. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe to "NewsBusted" to be automatically notified via email whenever we post new webcasts. We're really picking up steam with more subscribers per day than any other political show on YouTube.

Michael Medved Thinks MSNBC is ‘Getting Smart’ Moving to the Left

By Noel Sheppard | November 11, 2007 - 14:23 ET

An interesting discussion occurred on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday when host Howard Kurtz raised the issue of MSNBC intentionally moving to the left politically, as well as its failed attempt to hire Rosie O'Donnell.

Maybe most shocking was conservative radio talk show host Michael Medved saying of the recent events at MSNBC, "I think it shows that they're getting smart."

Coming in a close second was Jennifer Pozner of Women in Media and News stating with a straight face "the majority of the people who host shows on MSNBC are either centrists or conservative," and that Keith Olbermann "is a liberal host, but he doesn't necessarily promote liberal candidates or promote liberal projects."

Deliciously, that might not have been the most absurd statement from Pozner this day (partial transcript follows with emphasis added for your entertainment pleasure):

Rosie O’Donnell: ‘Keith Olbermann – the Best News Show on TV’

By Noel Sheppard | November 10, 2007 - 12:30 ET

Those that have wondered how someone like Rosie O'Donnell can be so disturbingly wrong about virtually every important issue of the day got an answer Thursday afternoon: she gets her news from Keith Olbermann.

In fact, not only does Rosie think "Countdown" is actually a news program, she believes it's "the best news show on TV."

Explains a lot, doesn't it?

After all, it's one thing to watch this show for the entertainment value, but quite another to be so intellectually challenged as to be incapable of divining the difference between news and opinion.

Yet, if you fast-forward to minute 2:00 of the following video, you will actually see and hear Rosie make possibly her most addle-minded statement to date:

The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: November 3 to 9

By Scott Whitlock | November 10, 2007 - 11:24 ET

So, Do You Like Bush or Not?

It's getting hard to exaggerate the left-wing rantings of MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. This week, he railed against the "criminal conspiracy to cover the ass" of the "fascist" Bush administration. It probably won't be long before he's dropping the F-word on-air. Olbermann also attacked the "nightmare presidency" of the current commander in chief and mocked Bush's "cynical exploitation" of 9/11. It's really a shame this guy won't have Rosie O'Donnell to follow him on MSNBC, huh?

She Likes Me!

Speaking of liberal MSNBC hosts (sorry for being redundant), Chris Matthews on Tuesday took credit for a line that Hillary Clinton recently used about leadership. Last week Mathews offered her some free advice and seemed pleased that she took it. "Well done," he enthused.