Rosie Leaving The View

Rosie O'Donnell is leaving The View after her one-year contract expires in June. After her F-bomb-laden and crotch-grabbing performance at Monday's New York Women in Communication awards, O'Donnell has been the subject of a furious campaign by various right-wing groups who have threatened to boycott Disney-owned ABC and their advertisers. The usual Fox News wingnuts (O'Reilly, Hannity & Colmes) have been going ballistic as well.

At the opening of today's episode, Rosie announced that she and ABC could not "come to terms" and that while she regrets leaving the show, she plans to return occasionally to guest host. Barbara Walters said, "To say the least, this has been an interesting year. It has been fun-filled, provocative, and you will be missed. I would like to make one thing perfectly clear, I did not participate in the negotiations. This is not my doing or my choice."

Rosie has been a breath of fresh, angry air on The View, where the opening Hot Topics segments were a platform for O'Donnell to rant daily against the Bush administration. I became a devout viewer when she joined the cast and her departure will leave a huge void for (admittedly strident) progressive voices on network television. Her style is not for everyone, but it IS for me. We need more pissed off people with a big megaphone and I can't think of anybody I'd rather have one than Rosie O'Donnell.
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