Oprah Winfrey is one of the most powerful women in the entertainment industry. From her early days as a news anchor to hosting her own show to launching her own network, Winfrey's story is incredible.
Her reign as the Queen of Talk, however, was at the center of media attention in the 90s. During this period, Rosie O'Donnell was experiencing success with her daytime talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
The two talk show hosts were rumored to be feuding rivals, but those rumors were eventually dispelled. Years later, Winfrey would bring O'Donnell back to television on her OWN network. However, the show wouldn't last more than one season.
Oprah Had Rosie On Her Show In The 90s To Dispel Rumors Of A Feud Between Them
Winfrey began to make a name for herself in the 80s. Not only was she becoming well-known as a talk show host, but she was even gaining recognition as an actress. Her role in The Color Purple gave audiences a look at Winfrey that was surprising, but still well-received. In the 90s, Winfrey had become the undisputed Queen of Talk.
However, Winfrey would soon see competition when O'Donnell started achieving success with her daytime talk show. One could argue that since the two occupied very different time slots each day, their competition wasn't that large.
It didn't matter to the tabloids, however, who were starting rumors of a feud between the two talk titans. O'Donnell had actually been a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show before The Rosie O'Donnell Show launched. She performed a stand-up routine in 1990 and was interviewed by Winfrey in 1992.
Winfrey addressed the feud speculation when O'Donnell's friend Madonna was a guest on the show in 1996. As the two spoke about rumors and tabloid gossip, Winfrey told Madonna that she was hurt by a headline which read, "Oprah Hates Rosie." Winfrey proceeded to explain that she doesn't hate O'Donnell and even watched her show.
The display of love was further cemented when O'Donnell was a guest on Winfrey's show shortly afterward. The two hosts used the appearance to further dispel any feud rumors.
After Leaving 'The View,' O'Donnell Got Another Show On Winfrey's Network
O'Donnell made a return to daytime television in the fall of 2006 when she became a co-host on The View. As the new moderator, O'Donnell made headlines throughout the season. Her feuds with Donald Trump and Kelly Ripa were closely followed, as were her disagreements with fellow co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
Those disagreements would soon turn personal, however, during an episode in May 2007. The two were having a discussion about the Iraq war when the argument turned personal. O'Donnell and Hasselbeck's on-air fight caused O'Donnell to leave the show earlier than expected. She previously announced that she wouldn't be renewing her contract.
In 2011, Winfrey ended her long-running talk show and launched her network, OWN. O'Donnell was given an opportunity to host a new talk show, The Rosie Show. Winfrey explained her decision to bring O'Donnell on board when speaking to Nightline.
"When I heard that Rosie actually might be interested in signing on with me and with OWN, I really couldn’t believe it," she said. "I was like, ‘Really? She would do that?’ And you know, got on a plane to see her face to face to hear from her from her own lips that this is true because I didn’t want agents speaking to lawyers and all of that stuff."
O'Donnell also recalled how the meeting took place. She even shared her own thoughts on Winfrey's reason for meeting with her.
"When I hugged her after I said I was all in, I said, ‘so did you come here to see if I was insane?'" O'Donnell said. "She said, ‘a little bit.’ I said, ‘I don’t blame you.’…I passed the crazy check. I’m not sure how but I did."
'The Rosie Show' Was Canceled Because The Ratings Weren't Up To O'Donnell's Expectations
While many were excited about O'Donnell's return to television, the results didn't exactly blow anybody away. As the show entered 2012, the format changed dramatically. The show was originally set up like a comedic variety show, similar to O'Donnell's first show. The show then transitioned into a more intimate one-on-one sit-down.
However, this didn't help the show and it was canceled after one season.
When speaking to Jess Rothschild on the podcast Hot Takes & Deep Dives, executive producer Paige Hurwitz shared her theories on why the show didn't work.
According to Hurwitz, she was happy with the show's first iteration and didn't think it should've been changed. However, she said that O'Donnell was disappointed with the show's ratings. Hurwitz said that O'Donnell's expectations were too high and the result of her time at network television, which naturally attracts more viewers.
Hurwitz also said that she believed O'Donnell became insecure when the ratings weren't what she expected. She believed O'Donnell started second-guessing the show, leading to its change. Regarding that change, Hurwitz left the show shortly after the new format began. She said that a serious one-on-one chat show wasn't the show she was hired to do. Hurwitz also said that she preferred working on comedy shows.
O'Donnell herself addressed the show's cancelation at the time, calling it "fair." She said that at the start of the show, she believed it would be easy, but it wasn't. O'Donnell cited a Lewis Carol quote when explaining why the format changed.
She referenced, "I can't go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
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