If you watched or read the news about Rosie O’Donnell’s last week on the view, you undoubtedly read many headlines about “Rosie’s Big Fight With Elisabeth” in which Rosie was portrayed as angry and unpatriotic, which ultimately led to her leaving the show. However, if you have watched the actual footage of the discussion that occurred on 05/23/07, you can see that it was Elisabeth who was the aggressor throughout the entire discussion.

Elisabeth began by interrupting Joy with sarcastic comments as Joy attempted to provide some facts about the George Bush presidency, and then continued as Elisabeth angrily defended her refusal to respond to the Republican pundits who incorrectly said that Rosie called the U.S. troops terrorists. As the discussion progressed, Rosie repeatedly tried to de-escalate the situation and not get into a disagreement. However, Elisabeth angrily continued in her blind defense of this administration and her criticisms of Rosie’s views. While many have portrayed this fight as one over politics, it was really a fight about friendship and Elisabeth’s refusal to support Rosie by denouncing what these pundits were attempting to say about her.

It is unfortunate that Rosie chose to leave The View after this incident, when it is Elisabeth who should be removed from the show for her angry and hateful tirade. Elisabeth has consistently used The View as a platform to perpetuate inaccuracies about the Iraq War and has shown a blatant disregard for the feelings of others who disagree with her.

While the purpose of The View is for different views to be expressed, each co-host should be able to express their views without being attacked by a closed-minded co-host who blindly refuses to listen to facts and uses the show to angrily spout propaganda.

This petition calls for ABC to fire Elisabeth Hasselbeck from The View to ensure that all reasonable views can continue to be heard.

Source

Combative US talk show host Rosie O’Donnell has decided to leave ABC’s The View early after an on-air spat with Elisabeth Hasselbeck over the Iraq war that aired repeatedly on cable TV, the network said.

“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,” Brian Frons, president of ABC Daytime Television, said in a statement.

“Therefore, we part ways, thank her for her tremendous contribution to The View and wish her well.”

The show’s creator and co-executive producer, Barbara Walters, 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.”

And O’Donnell said, “I’m extremely grateful. It’s been an amazing year and I love all three women,” a reference to her co-hosts including Hasselbeck with whom she sparred angrily with on Wednesday.

O’Donnell, known for her unabashedly liberal views, and Hasselbeck, who is a political conservative, have sparred frequently on the show, although they profess to be good friends off-camera.

Their latest exchange on Wednesday, perhaps their most heated, was a continuation of a debate over the Iraq war that began last week when O’Donnell said on the show, “655,000 Iraqi civilians have died. Who are the terrorists?”

Supporters of the US war effort accused O’Donnell of equating American soldiers with terrorists, and Hasselbeck said on Wednesday that O’Donnell should clarify her statement.

In the ensuing shouting match, the two women ended up calling each other “cowardly” before a commercial break ended the confrontation.

O’Donnell surprised viewers last month when she announced on the show that she had decided to end her run as co-host of The View when her contract expires in mid-June after just nine months on the air.

But she said then that she planned to return to the show next season for special segments and as a recurring guest host. It was not immediately clear whether she would and representatives for ABC were not available for comment.

O’Donnell has been a ratings booster for the ABC daytime show and has caused controversy with tart-tongued comments aimed at leading public figures, including real estate developer Donald Trump.