More fallout from “The View” was unearthed on Thursday, this time between Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg.
“Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me, personally–while I was sitting there,” O’Donnell said, according to an excerpt from Ramin Setoodeh’s book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View” obtained by E! News. “Worse than Fox News. The worst experience I’ve ever had on live television was interacting with her.”
O’Donnell replaced Meredith Vieira as co-host on the talk show in 2006, only to leave a year later after she and fellow panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck got into a heated political argument, according to E! News. O’Donnell later returned to “The View” in 2014, leaving again the following year to focus on her family and health.
Setoodeh’s book details the behind-the-scenes feud between O’Donnell and Goldberg, with the former complaining that the latter would shut down her ideas.
“Some people would say, ‘What’s going on with you and Whoopi?’” O’Donnell said in the excerpt. “I was like, ‘Are you watching the show? It’s pretty much right there.’ I have no desire for a public feud.”
O’Donnell also commented on a situation when she and Goldberg got into a fight about racism with guest co-host Laverne Cox.
“I thought my head was going to explode,” O’Donnell said. “My doctor called me and said, ‘Come in right now. Your heart rate during that is dangerous for you. I don’t want you doing that show anymore.’”
But O’Donnell maintains that she always has 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.”
Representatives for “The View” and for Goldberg herself did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
O’Donnell has also recently been in the headlines for her comments that she had a “crush” on Hasselbeck, has who called the comments “disturbing” and “objectifying.” O’Donnell responded with a tweet saying, “hey eh – my crush on u was not sexual – sorry u got scared – surely u recall b4 it all went wrong – i never objectified u – i did find u fantastic – broadway shows – my pool -we were friends once – god love ya kid – i always did.”
hey eh – my crush on u was not sexual – sorry u got scared – ❤️surely u recall b4 it all went wrong – i never objectified u – i did find u fantastic – broadway shows – my pool -we were friends once ❤️ god love ya kid – i always did #hasselbeck #raminSUX
— ROSIE (@Rosie) March 26, 2019