As the former host of her own eponymous talk show, Rosie O’Donnell believes Ellen DeGeneres’ exit from her daytime show is “complicated.”
“I have an understanding of the cycle of show business, and kind of what happens in people’s careers, and when enough is enough,” O’Donnell, 59, recently said on Sirius XM’s “The Jess Cagle Show.” “Oftentimes people don’t know that. I think I have a good balance of both in my life, of the importance of both. And it’s hard to maintain. It’s hard to do, especially when you’re doing a show like that.”
During the episode, Cagle drew comparisons to O’Donnell’s experience with her own talk show, which ran from 1996 to 2002, where she was dubbed “the queen of nice,” to DeGeneres ending every episode of her own show by saying “Be kind to one another.”
O’Donnell admitted that her own moniker “bit her in the ass,” insinuating that public perceptions change overtime.
“I said the day it came out, ‘look at this, the queen of nice. In a couple years it’s going to be the queen of lice, the queen of fried rice, you know, the queen of we don’t like her anymore,” she joked.
But O’Donnell says her own experience differs from that of 63-year-old DeGeneres.
“I don’t think it was the ‘be kind’ thing that got her. I think that’s oversimplification,” O’Donnell said. “But it was a lot of things, and it was complicated, and I’m glad that she’s, you know, going to be finished and she can get some time to herself.”
She added, “It’s a huge kind of strange thing to be on a show like that, and have all that attention on you. And she had it for like 19 years. So, you know, it’s a tough thing.”
DeGeneres was dragged for her “Be kind” catchphrase after she was exposed for allegedly creating workplace toxicity. The bullying allegations ultimately lead to her ending the show after 19 seasons.
O’Donnell has weighed in on the DeGeneres drama, saying in August 2020 that she has “compassion” for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” host.
“If you have a daily show, you can’t fake your essence,” O’Donnell, 58, said on the “Busy Philips is Doing Her Best” podcast at the time. “That’s why I have compassion for Ellen. I have compassion, even though I hear the stories, and I understand.”
Source: Page Six
