Rosie O’Donnell on “View” Audition Process, What Viewers Can Expect
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Michael Loccisano/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Rosie O’Donnell is headed back to The View — the daytime talk show, she says, she tearfully left after getting into an on screen fight with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck back in 2007.
In a new interview with Variety, O’Donnell recalls telling her longtime publicist, “‘I’m never going back. You have to call and tell them. Call the lawyer. No matter what they say, I will not go back.'”
But she is back with a different set of co-hosts: Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez and author and political analyst Nicolle Wallace.
So how did O’Donnell get the gig? “It was very much like the Hunger Games, how they did it,” O’Donnell says of the audition process.
Last month, all of the candidates went into one room with a table and had to do mock debates with O’Donnell and Goldberg.
“I think Whoopi and I were both a little shocked at having to do a chemistry test,” she says. “I don’t know if there’s a way to test that. It felt very negative and competitive.”
Still, with the co-hosts now picked and an all new set, which will now be in the round, O’Donnell said longtime fans can expect an exciting new show.
“I think it’s going to be must-see TV,” O’Donnell says. “My goal is to come in peace. And the contrast between what the show will be and what it was is going to be glaring.”
O’Donnell says she changed from the woman she was while on the show years ago. Back then, she says she was going through a divorce. Now, she’s happily married. Also, she’s no longer drinking alcohol and even meditates two times a day, according to Variety.
O’Donnell has also contributed to some changes in the show’s format. Along with airing pre-taped news pieces before the Hot Topics segment as a way to objectively explain what the hosts will be talking about, O’Donnell wants to rely less on celebrity guests.
“The necessity for celebrity in daytime TV has diminished as access to celebrity has increased 100-fold,” O’Donnell explains. “When I was a kid and Barbra Streisand was on TV, I would stay home from school.”
If the things don’t work out, the show and O’Donnell both have an out. She signed a one-year, multi-million dollar contract, reports Variety.
Co-creator and executive producer Barbara Walters, who retired from the show as a panelist earlier this year, said she’s banking on another successful season. “The View stays fresh and relevant, and Rosie will help keep it so,” she told Variety.
The new season of The View premieres live on Monday, Sept. 15.
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