Rosie O’Donnell Offends

By: Shannon Gossage

On the December 5th show, O’Donnell made a comment concerning Danny DeVito’s appearance on the show when he seemed to be intoxicated. O’Donnell said, "The fact is that it’s news all over the world. That you know, you can imagine in China it’s like: ‘Ching chong. Danny DeVito, ching chong, chong, chong, chong. Drunk. The View. Ching chong.’" O’Donnell, who is often quick to point out when someone else says something that she deems inappropriate, wrote a message on her Website on Friday that stated, "It was not my intent to mock." On Sunday she called the comments "comedy" and posted the following on her site, "I do many accents and probably will continue to. My mom in law impression offends some southerners. What can u do? I come in peace."

Cindi Berger, O’Donnell’s rep, said, "She’s a comedian in addition to being a talk show co-host. I certainly hope that one day they will be able to grasp her humor." New York City councilman John C. Liu, was not impressed. He reportedly sent a letter to Barbara Walters about the "bit." Liu said in an interview, "The ‘chong-chong’ bit is not a trivial matter. It really hits a raw nerve for many people in the community – many like myself, who grew up with these kinds of taunts. We all know that it never ends at the taunts." He went on to say, "It’s just stupidity, and it’s stupidity that justifies a response from someone who has been indignant herself when it comes to comments made by other people where she has perceived it as being negative against a popular community."

A statement was released Monday by UNITY: Journalists of Color. Part of the statement read: "By allowing O’Donnell’s cheap jab at Chinese Americans to go unchecked, the network is essentially condoning racial and ethnic slurs. It’s a practice that should not be tolerated in today’s diverse society. That’s our view." There was no mention of the drama on Tuesday’s airing of The View.