With that much, I agree with you. Except that now, suddenly, she IS acting as if she were the duly-elected spokesperson for all gay & lesbian America. Rosie has in the past year or so been parading before every news camera she can get in front of, uttering heavy-handed moralizing statements in a booming, chastising voice as if she were Martin Luther King reborn. After more than a decade of making homosexuality a “non-issue” on her show, her new strident moralizing seems rather two-faced.
Rosie used her show to make herself a spokesperson for other liberal causes and (notably when she “ambushed” Tom Sellek and harped on him about his stand on gun-control laws.) Yet homosexuality is a “non-issue” throughout the run of the show? If she didn’t want to share that part of her life, fine. But where does she get off acting like she’s the voice of the downtrodden minority NOW? The fact is, she didn’t come out until after Ellen Degeneres, and “Will & Grace”, and “Queer as Folk” made being gay more mainstream. Now Rosie puffs herself up as some sort of fearless trailblazer. That’s what bothers me about her.
As far as the tv show, I admit, this is just a suspicion of mind, (I can’t prove it one way or the other) but, the way she suddenly came out, got a “diesel dyke” haircut and started speaking out loudly on every “gay issue” that came up was suddenly occurring just as she was making noise about getting out of doing her show seems like awfully convenient timing. The show was making mega-bucks, and ABC
wouldn’t simply let her walk away from it, thereby bringing their cash-cow to a halt. I suspect she “dyked up” her image so that ABC (fearful of having any show appear too non-mainstream) would not pressure her to renew her contract.
Kelli Carpenter, Rosie’s wife, has stated on more than one occasion that she’s more than happy to stay out of the spotlight as she does not like public speaking. It’s no more distressing that she lets her partner make the speeches when the partner has made a living out of speaking to audiences than it is for my husband to let me do the same because he’s been a heads-down research geek while I have been a teacher and business leader.
Fishy as it may seem to you, you’re working on presumptions which do not reflect the sequence of events in any way.
It was November of 2000 when Rosie first said that she didn’t intend to renew her contract. The official announcement came in early 2001. Warner Brothers tried to get her to change her mind and renew. Rosie repeatedly said no, and repeatedly talked about ending the show whenever she did media. In July 2001, Warners, apparently accepting that Rosie was ready to move on, made the announcement that Caroline Rhea would take over the show. Rosie’s last season spanned 2001-2002. She came out, officially, in early March 2002, and the last live show aired in June of that same year. If anything, she came out because her show was ending, not vice versa.
As for why she waited, can you blame her? Look at what happened to Ellen. Her show plummeted in every single way when she came out, and the viewers ran away in droves. Was that because America was rejecting the idea of a lesbian starring as a lesbian on a television program, as some conservative pundits suggested, or was it because, as television critics will tell you, the writing went to hell, the storylines were ridiculous and all the bloom was off the rose comedically?
It’s worth a critical review, but as Ellen can tell you, it’s irrelevant, because no matter the root cause of the show’s decline and cancellation, in every bio from now until enternity, it will be written “Ellen, whose self-titled sitcom was quickly cancelled after her much-publicized coming out both on the show and in real life…”
Rosie had the most successful talk show on the air, and was well aware that whatever happened with the show, it was going to be news. So she was left with three options. If she came out and stayed on as host, as soon as the ratings started to decline – and eventually they would have, no matter what, when or why – there would be people saying that her gayness and/or out-ness was the reason. If she stayed quiet and ratings went down, that decline could be blamed on a lot of things, but her sexuality and/or acknowledgement thereof wouldn’t be on the list. If she timed her coming out exactly as she did – just weeks before leaving the show – any ratings wobbliness in the scant weeks between the announcement and her exit would be moot, because she’d be gone.
The saddest part of all of that is that Rosie’s choice reflected the sorrowful reality that there would be people who would stop watching as soon as she came out (and they did) no matter how happily they had watched her daily or how much they had enjoyed her show right up to the day when she acknowledged the truth behind the worst kept secret in showbiz.
She is? That’s a pretty subjective comment. Care to back it up with, uh, anything?
Or, conversely, she’s done press when she’s been asked by media outlets she knows she can trust to present a fair story? She’s had reason to be in the media in the last year or so, between the G+J lawsuit and her role in the doomed musical Taboo.
Rosie’s always had a loud, deep, Lawn Guyland accented voice, from the days when she did standup to her VJ stint on VH1 to her show. You’d prefer she speak in some fake little girly voice because she’s talking about a controversial issue?
So, let’s see if we can get this right: your position is that because she didn’t talk about her sexuality or the politics of sexuality at times in the past, she’s not supposed to do so now?
Was she out during the run of the show?
Now it matters to her. Carolyn McCarthy spent twenty-five years as a nurse and homemaker who, by her own admission, kept to herself and was by no means politically active. Then her husband was murdered, and she got so fired up and involved in gun control politics that she ended up running for and winning a seat in the House of Representatives. But I suppose that since she wasn’t actively anti-gun while other members of her community were killed and injured by guns over the years, she should’ve stayed in her kitchen and kept her mouth shut, right? Isn’t that the standard that you want to hold Rosie O’Donnell to?
Cite? When has she indicated anything of the sort?
Her contract was over. And could you be a little more offensive? Diesel dyke haircut? Are you even remotely for real?
Cut her some slack. She gushed about Tom Cruise because he is her favorite actor and she still finds “my Tommy” absolutely adorable, regardless of her sexual orientation.
TeaElle pretty much covered what I would have said but I have a few things I’d like to post.
Your interpretation is fairly harsh. She was always “pro-gay” or whatever on her show, she supported gay adoption rights and had many gay guests trumpeting their cause. If she wants to get more involved now, to show her support in a time when the gay rights are in the national debate then fine for her. I would feel threatened too, if my soulmate and I, co-parents of our children were being denied equal rights. Being a parent makes you want to make this world a better place for your children.
I don’t share your opinion on her annointing herself as a fearless trailblazer. I’ve yet to hear her say “I, as a representative of all gay people…”. She doesn’t appear to tow the line for any particular group other than her family.
And diesel dyke haircut? Not that you’d care but she reportedly cut it in imitation of Boy George to woo him into doing their broadway show Taboo together. Homosexual hair…jebus…
Rosie finally takes a stand. Good for her. Better late than never.
If I had a talk show, I would probably go on and on about Gina Gershon, although I’m gay. I just find something so sexy about her. But gay men can comment on attractive women with impunity. Heaven forbid a gay woman comment about an attractive man. That’s just not natural. :rolleyes:
Tom Cruise is beloved by lesbians everywhere, apparently, anyway. At the Golden Globes (this year, mind you) there was quite a moment when Tom was doing a red carpet interview with Pat O’Brien from Access Hollywood and Ellen DeGeneres came up from behind and grabbed Tom’s butt. And squeezed Tom’s butt. And then made complimentary comments about Tom’s butt. And then squeezed Tom’s butt some more. And joked with Tom’s mom about the positive aspects of Tom’s butt.
It seems that if you know him in person, you can overlook his smarmy smile, his goofy haircuts, that freaky mole and the $cientology thing because, apparently, his rear end is simply spellbinding. And that’s for lesbians. Straight women who know him must be offering the man sexual favors left and right. His magnetism is simply staggering!