Rosie O’Donnell Leaves The View

By: Shannon Gossage

Brain Frons, President of ABC Daytime, said in a statement released Friday, "We had hoped that Rosie would be with us until the end of her contract three weeks from now, but Rosie has informed us that she would like an early leave. Therefore, we part ways, than her for her tremendous contribution to The View and wish her well." Barbara Walters, the show’s creator, said, "I brought Rosie to the show. Rosie contributed to one of our most exciting and successful years at The View. I am most appreciative. Our close and affectionate relationship will not change." Blah, blah, blah…

O’Donnell’s decision to jump ship early comes on the heels of yet another catfight with co-star Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 29. The two traded barbs on Wednesday's episode over the war in Iraq. O’Donnell called Hasselbeck "cowardly" and "poor little Elisabeth." Hasselbeck defended herself and later said, "I honestly think, I believe that we are mature women who can resolve this. I hope we can. I would hope that a disagreement or a heated debate wouldn’t be the end of a relationship." Well, apparently O’Donnell feels differently. Although she did say of her departure, "I’m extremely grateful. It’s been an amazing year and I love all three women." Yeah…ok…

There has been nothing but controversy since O’Donnell joined the show replacing Meredith Vieira. Whatever the case…the ratings were reportedly up significantly than in past years. O’Donnell announced her departure from the show in April. She said at the time, "This has been an amazing experience and one that I wouldn’t have traded for the world. Working with Barbara, Joy and Elisabeth has been one of the highlights of my careers, but my needs for the future just didn’t dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me." O’Donnell had previously promised to be a "frequent guest host" next year but that remains to be seen. She has also said that she has another TV project that she is working on, but not details have been released yet.