Rosie O’Donnell just kicked off her second stint on “The View,” but staffers are already fretting that she’ll revert to being the “Queen of Mean,” The National ENQUIRER has learned.
“Rosie’s miserable,” an insider at ABC’s gabfest told The ENQUIRER exclusively.
“The ratings may have been good for the show’s premiere, but the critical feedback hasn’t been good – and she’s taking it personally.”
Rosie opened up “about her heart attack, her family, her gastric sleeve surgery, her wife’s cancer, her son’s special needs – and it didn’t go over well,” added the source. “The producers told her gently, and she started crying. She feels like she’s being personally attacked.”
One former staffer said: “I’ve definitely seen her temper. I would see it with the producers. She just lost her patience.
“She wouldn’t agree with their choices and voiced her opinion. She wasn’t afraid to speak up. I’m sure people probably did think she was a nightmare. One night we were coming out of her trailer and the producers handed her a diet book. It was so out of the blue. She didn’t take that very well at all. She had a few choice words for them and threw it back at them.”
Now, with Rosie on the defensive, insiders fear she’ll lapse into the same nasty behavior she exhibited while working on her magazine, Rosie.
In 2001, Rosie partnered with the publishers of McCall’s magazine, which was relaunched as Rosie.
But the magazine tumbled when Rosie and the publisher butted heads over content.
“The editorial department had problems working with her at the time,” said Giorgetta McBee, who designed Rosie’s 2002 book, “Find Me.”
“There were some differences of opinion, to the point that they said they never wanted to work with her again!”
Rosie quit the magazine after 16 months, triggering a lawsuit between Rosie and the publisher, Gruner+Jahr USA.
“I don’t (want) people to think I am a controlling uber bitch, like Oprah and Martha,” Rosie is quoted as saying in the suit. “Well guess what – I am going to be. Because Martha and Oprah know what they are doing. And they don’t compromise.”
In the lawsuit claims of Rosie’s backstabbing were highlighted. Rosie was slated to appear on the cover of the magazine.
According to the lawsuit, she screamed at editor Susan Toepfer, telling her she would not do the cover because the photo made her look fat. Rosie apologized to Susan for her outburst, only to demand the next day that she be fired. The case was eventually dismissed.
As for “The View,” the source said: “With the old Rosie, people knew when she was mad if she didn’t like her wardrobe or the lighting.
“But now she’s trying not to be a type-A angry bully, so she’s acting passive-aggressive.
“Instead of just saying ‘I don’t like that,’ she’ll ask, ‘Does that really look good?’ “She’s trying to be softer, but it’s awkward, and people are walking on eggshells.”
