| ‘Donahue’ for February 24 |
| Read the complete transcript from Monday’s show |
| Guest: Rosie O’Donnell (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: Tonight, she’s been one of America’s most vocal celebrities on everything from adoption to gun control. Now Rosie O’Donnell is on DONAHUE, talking about life out of the spotlight, motherhood and potential war. Rosie O’Donnell, Phil, and a live audience, starting right now. (END VIDEO CLIP) PHIL DONAHUE, HOST: Good evening and welcome to DONAHUE, coming to you from New York City. Well, tonight, Rosie O’Donnell is the woman of many talents. She’s famous for her wit, her skill as an actress, and her highly acclaimed talk show where she interviews real people-I should say past tense-interviewed real people and celebrities. Here’s one of the biggies. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROSIE O’DONNELL, ENTERTAINER: Every boy and girl watching out there, dreams do come true. Please welcome-I knew would I do this-Barbra Streisand. I knew would I do this. I knew I would. (END VIDEO CLIP) DONAHUE: Well, even though Rosie ended her show last May, she’s kept busy, both as a mother and as an advocate for gun control, gay adoption, as well as other issues. She’s won 25 Emmy awards. Here is Rosie O’Donnell. Say hello to her. (applause) They’re crazy about you, baby. They’re crazy about you, kid. There you go. O’DONNELL: Hi. DONAHUE: How old is the baby? O’DONNELL: The baby is 3 months old. And adorable, I might add. DONAHUE: Yes. What a moment. O’DONNELL: Yes. Crazy. DONAHUE: Oh, well, it’s-And Kelly and you are two mommies and you’re raising four kids. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: And it’s, I mean, you don’t have time to move with four kids. The oldest is 7. O’DONNELL: Seven. He’s in first grade. And he told me last week, I had been doing some art painting. And so some woman came to my house to talk about doing a show. So I’m doing my homework with him and she’s looking at the art in the garage where I paint. And she comes in very dramatic and she goes, “Rosie, I don’t care what you say, you’re having a show.” And he starts crying. Parker. And he goes, “It’s so much better when you don’t have a show, Mommy.” And it was, like, the moment I went, wow, thank you, God. I got it. Because I get to pick him up at school. I get to be the mommy that does the crafts. And I know that most mothers in the country would do that-in the world-if they had the resources. I’m lucky that I have the resources. DONAHUE: And you’re a Gap girl. O’DONNELL: I am, as you can tell. DONAHUE: Well, you and lots of other mommies out there. Do you miss it? Here you are. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: This was where it all happened. My studio. We’re not in it now but down-where are we? O’DONNELL: We’re in number three now. But that day was the luck. I firmly believe. I watched your show since it went on the air. I grew up learning about women’s rights and feminism and racial equality and all the things that are important, and I think the fact that you’re back on now, there isn’t a better time. Because I watch you daily and I am inspired. And that’s why I’m here. More people who believe what you do. We should stand up and say. DONAHUE: Let me just, I always appreciate it. I want to say this while I’ve got a chance. This is a fabulous place to work. This is the most romantic address, I think, in the country. Really, 30 Rockefeller Plaza. People from all over the world get off the bus, or the plane, and they come here. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: It’s Bob Hope. It’s Jack Parr, “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.” It’s such a creative spot. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: And here we were. And both of us got the chance to do this. We’re lucky, I feel. Let’s talk serious here for a moment. The war. Roseanne O’Donnell, Commack, New York, born on March 21. Not that long ago. O’DONNELL: 1962. DONAHUE: OK, you said that. O’DONNELL: There you go. I’m 40 and I’ve got some gray over here now that I’m not on TV every day. DONAHUE: Yes. Please don’t let that happen to you. You might want to take a picture of the back of her jacket here. Tell me about-Tell me about how you feel about what’s happening now in our country, and around the world. O’DONNELL: Well, I think like every mother, every mother that I’ve spoken to, every day when I go to pick up my kids from school, every person I’ve spoken to has said they’re against this war, for basic reasons. It’s not 1940. There are nuclear weapon everywhere. If one goes off, it is the end of the world as we know it. It’s a different game than it was in World War II. And this is a preemptive strike. This is not the American way of life. This is not American values. When there are alternate mean, when the U.N., an organization that is set up to prevent World War III, is saying please follow these rules and we are saying, no, we won’t. Out like a cowboy alone. To me, it reminds me of where 12th graders in high school and there’s a third grader with a knife. And instead of a bunch of 12th graders going and taking the knife away, we’re going to kick the crap out of this third grader. I don’t want any part of that. Not in my name. I don’t want to kill innocent mothers and children and fathers in another country when there are alternate mean available, at least at this point. DONAHUE: What would they be, Rosie? Those of us who oppose the war, I suppose we have a responsibility to know, what would you do? What would you do? I remember, I mentioned this first on your show... O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: ... way back. Not long after 9/11. Probably not long enough. Because I remember saying, I hope we’re not going to bomb Afghanistan. I really thought, holy cow, a third world country. People live in caves. We’re going to bomb. How will that help? That’s about the hand I got. O’DONNELL: Well, it’s-I’ll tell you what... DONAHUE: Not even a four on the applause media from your audience. And that’s when my wheels started turning. Holy cow. This is going to be tough. I mean, we were angry and we wanted to pop somebody in the nose. O’DONNELL: And I will tell you this, that somebody like me, who normally would agree with you, at that time, September 15, 20, October, I like the rest of the world was so stunned that I was not even really thinking logically. I was reacting emotionally. I was seeing my friends’ husbands in caskets. I was seeing, you know ” we were right by St. Patrick’s every day. The bagpipes and the firemen and the policemen. And it was devastating. DONAHUE: It was. O’DONNELL: So the emotional reaction to that was four people clapping. Well, now we’ve gone all this time past and we haven’t found the man responsible for the act of terror. We are not a nation of terrorists. We don’t respond to terror with terror. We can’t. We are the seniors in the high school. And if one of the younger students don’t know how to act, in society, we need to teach them, not kill them. And we have the power to do that. We are the richest country. We’re the strongest country. We’re the most powerful, the most educated. We have the ability. And if every person who believed that war is wrong-you know, when the president says, you’re either with us or against us, I would like to say to him, well, you’re either for peace or you’re against peace. Are you against peace, President Bush? Because I don’t think he is. I think that the snow ball started and here we are and before this imaginary deadline of March 10 or 7, everyone who believes, please try another option. Raise your hand. Go to MoveOn.org. Be part of this win without war campaign. You have to make your voice heard. This is America. This is what the country was founded on. And that’s why I’m here. DONAHUE: Celebrities are getting blasted... O’DONNELL: I know, but you know what...? DONAHUE: ... for saying what you’ve just said. O’DONNELL: Let me tell you, Phil, nobody wants to interview the mother of the two kids in my daughter’s class who feels the same way. I stand with 36 women every day outside the elementary school. And if any newscaster wanted to speak to any member of the PTA across America, I have a feeling they would say the same thing I’m saying. Celebrities are speaking because, sadly, our society is set up to value what we say more than the people who actually have something to say. I don’t think I’m smarter than anyone else. I don’t think I have the answer, but I know one thing. War is wrong. It is the basic tenet of every spiritual belief, killing is wrong. Have we not learned yet? So that is why I’m-I’m not speaking as a celebrity. I’m speaking as a mother and I’m speaking for the mothers who don’t have the option of an hour on the Phil Donahue show. I’m lucky. I have enough Emmy awards that give me a whole hour. (applause) DONAHUE: That is true, that is true. Yes. O’DONNELL: I mean, look at what’s been-You know what I find fascinating, too? What’s the biggest hit since all this war stuff has started is all this crap TV: “The Bachelor” and “Joe Millionaire” and we’re all distracted. Everyone is going, oh, you know, we’re about to-we’re sending our sons and daughters over to this country. But you know what? Twenty-six million people are watching the fake millionaire propose to the substitute teacher. I mean, it’s like they’re distracting with us bells and whistles, and everybody, don’t be distracted. There’s nothing more important. Because we don’t want to be floating around in the afterlife going, can you believe we did nothing? Remember? DONAHUE: I do. You know, the Grammys-you probably watched it-we got a few peeks there but Limp Bizkit made a comment. O’DONNELL: Yes. Well, people are afraid to speak... DONAHUE: Sheryl Crow had a “no war.” O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: Unfortunately, her hair covered the “no.” O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: Not her fault. O’DONNELL: No, but I’ll tell you this. DONAHUE: But I mean, you know, that was an act of courage. O’DONNELL: It is. DONAHUE: I mean, that... O’DONNELL: And you know, I’ll tell you this. If Janeane Garofalo speaks up as an intelligent educated woman who has the microphone because of her celebrity status, she’s on all of these right wing talk shows being called a traitor. A coward. A communist. Since when does dissent in America entitle the other party to call you names? I mean, if we don’t challenge our president, this is not a democracy. If we who believe in peace as an alternative and an option don’t stand up and say it, it is only going to be our responsibility when the bombs drop. And our boys and girls come home sick and killed and dead and maimed or with the same kind of stuff that happened in Desert Storm with those illnesses that have not yet been defined by our government. It is-It’s an atrocity and there’s no way around it. War is bad. I am opposed to it. And I really want a peaceful solution. (applause) Only here you get applause for that. Only here? DONAHUE: Well, we-Well, we thank you for your support. We should tell our audience that we don’t go out and look for people against the war. This is as random as I think an audience can get. O’DONNELL: But you’ve got to admit, you’re a magnet. You are. DONAHUE: Your support is not-we should make clear, not everybody totally signs on with your position, which I must say, you speak for me. You speak for me. And whatever incoming, those who try to raise a voice of dissent may receive, this is incontrovertible, the voice of “no war” is growing. DONAHUE: Yes. It’s one of the biggest problems this administration has. They have spent so long winding up. I’m going to get you. Time’s up. And as each week went by, the enthusiasm, and the reality of bombs dropping on a crowded city at night where old people and children were sleeping began... O’DONNELL: In huts. DONAHUE: ... to settle in. To settle in. I think... O’DONNELL: They’re not sleeping with digital televisions and the Kodak new camera and the-They’re not. They’re sleeping in huts, these people. They don’t have enough money to eat. These are not the people that we need to go after. DONAHUE: Let me tell you who will not say what you just said: Dennis Miller. O’DONNELL: I saw him on the show and it really disturbed me. This is an intelligent guy, and I’ve watched him and I’ve been on his program. And to have him sit here and tell you that he thought that we should go blow up a nuclear bomb somewhere just to show everybody that, you know, we were still number one. Well, I have news. Everyone knows we’re number one. We created the nuclear weapons and now all the other people have them, too. And we’re getting mad. Right. Guess who started the game? We did. We did. DONAHUE: I’ll tell you who else is not-is not able to-this is the speech that dare that speak his name. Hillary Rodham Clinton. O’DONNELL: I know, and it’s very disappointing. DONAHUE: Dianne Feinstein. O’DONNELL: It’s disappointing. DONAHUE: Barbara Mikulski. O’DONNELL: That is why, Phil... DONAHUE: Patrick Kennedy, the son of the liberal lion in the Senate. O’DONNELL: On Wednesday, we are having a virtual march for peace. MoveOn.org is the Web site. Sign up. There will be faxes and e-mails to every senator, every minute of that day for the entire day. At least to say, you know, I want to say to Hillary, who I respect and I think is a very dedicated public servant and intelligent woman, I want to say, you know what, it would really take for her to make her mark and her legacy to stand up and say, no war. What’s your legacy? You know what? I didn’t want to come and talk about this because, you know, I just left the show and things were calming down. And as the day went on and on and the song from “Les Mis,” if I speak, I am condemned. But if I stay silent, I am damned. And that is so much worse, to know that you had the power to say, please stop, everyone. Let’s stop and think. President Bush is not an evil man. He is the leader of our nation and I know he has it in him to find the grace to find a peaceful solution. DONAHUE: I agree with that. I agree with that. This is Rosie O’Donnell who has a habit of saying what she thinks. The Web site to which she referred is on our Web site, MSNBC.COM. Turn on to DONAHUE and you’ll find her Web site. We’ll be back in just a moment. ANNOUNCER: When DONAHUE returns, more with Rosie O’Donnell, including her thoughts on our president, George W. Bush. We’ll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) DONAHUE: We want you to be part of our show. If you’re in the New York area and want to be in the audience, give us a call at 212-664-3056. Looking for you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) DONAHUE: Welcome back. Talking to Rosie O’Donnell. Take a look at this telecast of the last Emmy awards show. Guess who wins. Guess who’s presenting, an older fellow. Watch this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONAHUE: And the Emmy goes to Rosie O’Donnell! (applause) (END VIDEO CLIP) DONAHUE: What a hit. What a hit. O’DONNELL: And remember what you said? You said, and you’d better enjoy it, kid. DONAHUE: I did. I said I hope you enjoyed this. O’DONNELL: You said, I am, I am. DONAHUE: How about it? Would you go back? O’DONNELL: I don’t know. I don’t think so. DONAHUE: You know, it’s chaotic now. I mean, the field-I think you could walk in and they’d throw rose petals. I mean it. (applause) O’DONNELL: Well, thank you. Very nice. But as you know, it’s a very difficult gig, not compared to working in a factory, just in terms of the hours and doing the show. And for me it was hard because my private life became public. I talked, stories about my life, and then it would be my kid and then my kid started to get in first grade: “Why did you tell everyone that I wore the Spider-Man underwear?” DONAHUE: Oh, I had that. I had that. O’DONNELL: It got tough for a little while. But I’m producing-I’m going to produce a Broadway show. For now, that’s-I’m not going to be in it but I’m going to produce it, a musical called “Taboo.” DONAHUE: You have been a one-person promoter for Broadway and everybody who works the street is so grateful for you-First of all, tip of the hat for “Seussical.” You were only fabulous. And now you’re bringing Boy George, is that right? O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: Tell me. Well, this has got to be pretty wild. I mean, not for the kids, I assume. O’DONNELL: Well, you know, it’s the story of the romantic era, the new romantics in England in the 1980s, which is-Boy George was only 16 years old. 17 years old when he became a star. And he was the guy who dressed like he dressed from the time he was 6 years old, got beaten up in school and was always very sure of himself. And you know, he’s a big man, he’s like 6’4”. He’s not a little guy. So I go to see Madonna’s play in London. And on the way out of the theater, I see a little sign, “Boy George: Taboo.” About this big. I’ll go in, Boy George. I go in, and I get a seat. And I’m watching this young boy, 21 years old, play Boy George. And there’s another man playing Leigh Bowery, who was a performance artist, with paint all over his face. I couldn’t really recognize him. And I loved the show and I went to the bartender afterwards. It was a little club, smaller than this theater. I said, I’d love to produce it. “Oh, wait a minute. George will be out here, darling.” I looked through the play bill, no George. Out comes the guy with paint on his head. “Hello, I’m George O’Dowd.” DONAHUE: Right. O’DONNELL: I didn’t even know it was him. I said, “I wasn’t even watching you because I was watching the guy playing you, because that’s how much I love you and I didn’t know you were in it.” You know? I mean, he was, like, just looking at me and I had my normal hair at that time. And I said, well, I just left my show. I would love to produce this on Broadway. He goes, “Oh, Rosie, you’re so suburban.” And then he took like an umbrella and he walked out. And I was like, wait. I’m serious, you know. So I cut my hair, I came back, I said who’s suburban now? And he was, like, “Oh, you’re mad.” DONAHUE: You knew he meant your hair when he said you were suburban? O’DONNELL: Well, he looked at me sort of, like, down, “Oh, you’re so suburban.” You know, because he’s so out there and crazy. DONAHUE: Nice lovely reception you got. But you’re doing it. This is actually going to happen. O’DONNELL: Yes. We’re opening in November on Broadway. We-Boy George is going to play the part of Leigh Bowery. We have the director, Chris Renshaw (ph), and I’m the producer. It’s very interesting. I’m the one who has to deal with talent. And let me tell you, we’re not easy. DONAHUE: No... O’DONNELL: No, no, no. DONAHUE: Well, you’ll know more about it. The young man in the back row. Yes, you wanted to ask Rosie? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I’m sorry to-going to kind of bring up Iraq and your... DONAHUE: It’s all right. No rules here. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear so much of-And I want to just tell you that I agree with you so much of what you say, but I hear so much of you and your colleagues saying no way, no war, and I agree war is horrible. But what are the specific ideas coming out from your side as to what we can do with Iraq? Because even if you look at what’s going on with the Palestinian people, how he funds the suicide bomber families and so much of what he does is a threat to Israel and us. And I just don’t hear any real concrete ideas coming out. O’DONNELL: Well, there are seven nations that have nuclear capability. And Israel has yet to tell us whether or not they do. So the fact that North Korea has, now, nuclear weapons and that Iraq supposedly has nuclear weapons is added to a list already existing. So I think there are means that we can get together with the world community and put pressure on Saddam Hussein to either be exiled or to give up all of the weapons that he has there. There are ways to displace dictators without having to kill innocent people. And that’s what I suggest. DONAHUE: Butler, the former weapons inspector who now who works for MSNBC, a very nice chap, by the way, an Australian, makes the point that as he made his rounds around the world, he is very, very direct in saying, he hears good weapons of mass destruction and bad weapons of mass destruction way too often. People in other parts of the world want to know why our weapons of mass destruction are good... O’DONNELL: Right. DONAHUE: ... and everybody else’s is bad. At least we have to confront the hypocrisy. It doesn’t mean we’re evil. It doesn’t mean the president doesn’t have a good heart. But let us be honest. We’ve got the biggest thing that goes boom in the history of the universe and we appear to be rather lofty and pious in our demands that nobody else have one. O’DONNELL: And still, we’re the only nation that’s ever used nuclear atomic weapons on human being. We did it twice. Hiroshima, Nagasaki. We did it. DONAHUE: You wanted to ask? Yes, ma’am. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to ask you what you thought about reinstituting military draft. DONAHUE: Well, in one way, I think it’s a great thing. Because frankly, the people who are over there fighting are not the rich elite white scholars of America. They’re people who, in order to make a better life for themselves, they joined the military to get funding through college and now their lives are in danger. We’re not risking the lives of senators or rich people like me, my children right now. And if the draft was reinstituted and everybody was, you know, no one was exempt, I think that the senators would be saying a different thing. I think if, you know, it was a senator’s son that was about to be put in fatigues and sent over to Iraq, that maybe he would stand up and say, guess what? I don’t think it’s such a great idea. DONAHUE: Also, let’s fund VA services. Let’s not take so long to deliver them. You know, as you-the Vietnam vets told me this. When you got hit in the battlefield, your buddies risked their lives to get you out of there. Helicopters, Hueys, get the buddy. And they did. They did. And then as you got removed from the point at which you were hit, and you finally made it back to home, there was less and less attention, until you finally got to a VA. And once in awhile, somebody visited you. We have to confront this past and also remember that if your father could afford the lawyer, you didn’t have to go to the Vietnam War. We can’t let this happen again. We’ll be back in just a moment. ANNOUNCER: Her autobiography, “Find Me,” was a “New York Times” bestseller. When DONAHUE returns, Rosie O’Donnell on the revelations in her book and why she needed to write it. We’ll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) O’DONNELL: I love TV, I’m not embarrassed to say. I love being on TV, I love watching TV. I watched it 24 hours a day when I was a kid. To me, it’s to me what football was to O.J. before he killed his wife. Guilty? Who’s to say? Me. Anyway... (END VIDEO CLIP) DONAHUE: Welcome back to DONAHUE. We’re back with Rosie O’Donnell. And that was her doing her thing, what she does best. You happened to be in that clip, the host of “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.” Your book is titled, “Find Me.” You haven’t even asked me to show it. There you are. Very personal for you. You’re outspoken about gay adoption. In fact, we have a piece of “Will and Grace.” You bring your, all the ” everything you care about to your work. It’s a wonderful idea. Let’s take a look. Here’s advocacy for gay parenting. You’ve brought it into your acing career. Here’s a scene from the role you play on “Will and Grace,” and it’s a gay mother. Go get them, Rosie. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN HAYES, AS JACK MCFARLAND: You have a problem with gay people. O’DONNELL: No, I don’t. HAYES: Yes, you do. O’DONNELL: No, I don’t. HAYES: Yes, you do. O’DONNELL: I’m gay, Jack. HAYES: No, you’re not. O’DONNELL: Yes, I am. HAYES: No, you’re not. O’DONNELL: Yes, I am. I’m gay. HAYES: Prove it. Say something lesbionic. O’DONNELL: Home Depot. (LAUGHTER) (END VIDEO CLIP) DONAHUE: You wrote the joke? O’DONNELL: Yes! DONAHUE: You should be proud of that. (LAUGHTER) DONAHUE: Scream. Look at this. They loved it. Well, first of all, 50 states, you picked Florida. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: The law is on the books. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: And it says? O’DONNELL: It’s the only state. It says, Are you now or have you ever been a homosexual? DONAHUE: And if you are, what? O’DONNELL: If you are, you are not allowed to adopt a child... DONAHUE: For... O’DONNELL: Even... DONAHUE: Forbidden. O’DONNELL: Illegal. Forbidden. And in order for me to adopt the foster child I had for 16 months, I would have had to perjure myself. I would have had to say, No, I am not now nor have I ever been a homosexual. DONAHUE: And then sneak around... O’DONNELL: Well, I probably could have gotten around it because I’m famous and because I’m rich and because-but you know what? It’s so unfair. There are a half a million kids in foster care in America. There are 141,000 licensed foster homes. There is nowhere for these children to go. Any family that is stable, loving and willing to take in a child that is unwanted and damaged by an adult who is not capable should be legally allowed to. And it’s an embarrassment and a shame on that state. DONAHUE: I agree with you. It still exists, though. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: And you still live there. O’DONNELL: No, I don’t, actually. Kelly (ph), my partner, said to me ” who grew up in the South, she said, Honey-because I thought after I read the case of the Loftons (ph) and the Cruteaus (ph), these two men who had adopted HIV-positive boys, and they had threatened to take one of the boys, Bert (ph), away from the family-when I heard that case, I said to Kelly, I’m going to come out and support these men because this is a reason to do it. And she said, OK, but, honey, if they don’t change the law, promise me we won’t to have live in Florida. And I’m, like, What, are you crazy? I’m going to tell everyone. I’m going to tell them that they don’t let people who are qualified have children because they’re gay. And she goes, OK, let’s see what happens. Well, I was stunned. So she goes, Let’s start packing. DONAHUE: You really are going to have to-you love it there. O’DONNELL: I love it there. I do. But I understand... DONAHUE: Don’t you have a beautiful spot on the water and all that good... O’DONNELL: You know, when I was a young comic and I did my first movie with Madonna, I used to rent the car and drive around this island and look at the houses and say, One day, I’m going to buy one of these. And as soon as I made enough money, that’s what I bought. And it is paradise to me. But I don’t want my children to be raised in a state where that is the law and that is the way that, apparently, the people in Florida want the law to be. DONAHUE: Jon from Florida-J-O-N-writes this e-mail. “I would like to commend Rosie for standing up for the gay adoption issue. We need more people like this in our distraught country. As a resident of Florida, where they would rather lose children in the system than have two loving and caring people giving these unwanted children the nurturing and love that they so rightly deserve. Thank you, Rosie.” Very nice. “Rosie, was it hard for all”-another from Florida. “Was it hard for all your children to accept the new baby that you and Kelly had together, since they are all adopted? Do they even know that their paths to you and Kelly were very different?” O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: How are you talking to the kids? O’DONNELL: Well, I’ve always been very honest. I’ve told them when they were little, you know, the whole story, they were adopted. And when Clark (ph) was about 3, I was driving him home for a play date, a little boy with him. And he say, You know, I’m adopted. And the kid goes, What’s that? He goes, I grew in another lady’s tummy, and God looked and saw it and saw there was a mixup and told the lady and she listened and got to my right mommy. That’s adopted. (LAUGHTER) O’DONNELL: But he thought everyone was adopted, you know? DONAHUE: I bet! O’DONNELL: So Chelsea (ph) and he, they both get it. And Blake is only 3, so he doesn’t really understand. But he is a little confused because of the baby that came in Kelly’s tummy. So he says, I in you tummy? I said, No, honey. You were in someone else’s tummy. No, I in you tummy. Mommy, big tummy! (LAUGHTER) DONAHUE: Yes. O’DONNELL: A really cute kid. Yes! DONAHUE: But they’re very-they’ve discussed with you that they don’t have a father. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: They’ve said this, and... O’DONNELL: Well, not that they don’t have a father, that every family is different and that their family is comprised of two mommies and that every family is different. And they’re not the only children in their class, by any stretch of the imagination, without a traditional family. There are some divorced parents, single parents, gay parents, grandparents raising children nowadays, sadly. So it’s not such a big deal as it was when I was a child. They sort of take it as-you know, I hear them tell their friends, yes, I got two mommies. Not saying that when they’re 15, they’re not going to scream at me, I hate you! You’re gay, and you’re not my mother! Because they are. But they’re only 7 now, and they’re good. DONAHUE: Well, we should also mark progress here. Some very, very early and brave politically active people have been out there. We had a lot more states like Florida... O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: ... that have finally gotten rid of these very, very medieval laws. And Florida-I don’t know who-Utah, I think. You can’t adopt... O’DONNELL: The only state that actually prohibits it on the book, constitutionally violating your rights, is Florida. And on March 4, I believe, the case is being heard. I will be down there with the Loftons and Cruteaus. It’s only a 15-minute proceeding, but I wanted to go there to show the support for these men. I mean, these men deserve kind of attention and accolades. They took four HIV-positive children that no one wanted, that were addicted to drugs, and they’ve raised them into a healthy, beautiful family. They’re astonishing men. DONAHUE: Someone here in the center has a-sir, go ahead. You’re on the air. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. O’DONNELL: Hi. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was wondering if you believe that your coming out has anything to do with this whole magazine controversy thing going on recently. O’DONNELL: I have been instructed by my lawyers... DONAHUE: We’d better... (LAUGHTER) DONAHUE: Rosie had a magazine titled “Rosie,” replaced “McCall’s” magazine, which had been struggling with the circulation. And after the success of “Oprah,” why not? O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: Why not? The beloved and aging “McCall’s” magazine, a very successful-”McCall’s” was on my mother’s coffee table... O’DONNELL: Mine, too! DONAHUE: ... all growing up. O’DONNELL: Yes. Mine, too. DONAHUE: Comes along “Rosie,” the new “Rosie,” the hip, the young, the hip, the smart, the talented, the lovable-she comes along and, all of a sudden, they’re producing her magazine, and she doesn’t like what they’re producing. And you know the rest. I’m sorry to give you that-so the gentleman has a question. O’DONNELL: But that was good, actually. I’d like to bring you around ” I am not allowed to say that, but you can say it very well! I’ll tell you that. DONAHUE: The status. The status of this. O’DONNELL: We’re in the middle of a lawsuit. I will tell you this. The day that it is done, I will come on this show first and tell you all of the gory details because, trust me, it’s fascinating. DONAHUE: So thank you for that nice, brief commentary. Yes, ma’am? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the live theater. And I was wondering, with the economy the way it is today, what you think the future is. DONAHUE: Of live theater? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Live theater. O’DONNELL: Yes. It’s very difficult. It’s become very cost-prohibitive, you know, and I’m hoping that, you know, getting involved as a producer, I can maybe have some effect on that, on making it more accessible, specially to children. I was so lucky to grow up on Long Island, to see “Pippin” the first time around, to see “A Chorus Line,” you know, with the original cast. And those moments really defined my entire life. I knew what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be and where I had to go to do it from Broadway. You know, Hollywood was a distant thing. I had no idea how to get there. But Broadway I knew. So that’s going to be the second part of my career and life is going to be trying to bring my love of that to everyone because there’s nothing like the feeling of the waxy (ph) playbill in your hand and the orchestra tuning up and that big velvet curtain. And I wish it were accessible to every child in the country, if not the world. DONAHUE: We’re in New York City with Rosie O’Donnell. And we’ll be back in a moment. ANNOUNCER: Got a topic or a guest you want to see on DONAHUE? Long onto donahue.msnbc.com and pitch your idea. Plus, you could chat along with the show live every night, speak out and let us know what you think. Phil’s on the Web now at donahue.msnbc.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) DONAHUE: Welcome back. I’m talking with Rosie O’Donnell, who this audience and so many others are just crazy about. OK, I’ve got some pictures here. I’ll show, you tell. O’DONNELL: All right. DONAHUE: Your thoughts on each. Here we go. All right. O’DONNELL: Madonna. She’s happy. Oh, still mad at him. Wish he wasn’t in the job he’s in. Oh, adore him! I wish he’d say no war. I wish that he goes away. Very sad, and I hope somebody helps him because he’s obviously troubled. Hello, gorgeous! Bill O’Reilly-actually, a fair guy. I had a good time talking to him. He was in support of those men keeping their children. I was so stunned. I went on his show, and he’s actually turned out to be quite a good guy. DONAHUE: And he did a huge rating with you on his show. This... O’DONNELL: Tom Selleck. DONAHUE: Tom Selleck. O’DONNELL: The poor guy will never get over having to be associated with me. He has very different political views than me, and I think my show became more like this show... DONAHUE: Right. O’DONNELL: ... than Merv Griffin for a day... DONAHUE: Right. O’DONNELL: ... and he was the sad recipient of my wrath. DONAHUE: Yes. O’DONNELL: I think a good man who will lead to us peace because any president can wage war, but few can pave peace. And I’m hoping that he does that. And this is... (APPLAUSE) DONAHUE: Yes. O’DONNELL: ... you know... DONAHUE: I mean... O’DONNELL: ... a man who also-I would like him to go away. Exile is nice. Can he go to an island somewhere? You know? DONAHUE: Right. You were raised, five children, Catholic, Irish Catholic family. Your father was born in Ireland. Did I read that? O’DONNELL: Yes, he-when he was very little, but he-my mom died when I was 10. My dad-we were the kind of parish council family. My mother was president of the parish council. We were-we went to Catholic schools. My brothers went to Catholic school until she died or got sick, and we didn’t go after that. But on Long Island, yes, very Irish Catholic. Very much a part of my identity. DONAHUE: So actually, your faith, then, began to become-after the death of a parent is when you started to pull back? O’DONNELL: I think my father did, really. I think my father was so angry at God and so devastated you know? There wasn’t really-you know, I credit Oprah Winfrey with teaching America how to have feelings and how to grieve. You know, when you see her show now, they have whole sessions on what to do if a parent dies. And for the longest time, you know, people would call my house, I’d answer the phone, they’d say-solicitors-can I speak to your mother? This was, like, four, five years later. I’d say, She’s in the shower, because I couldn’t get to say the words that she had died because I couldn’t really believe it because we didn’t really talk about it. And I wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral. And there was no finality, you know, for me. But back then, you just tried to make kids-let’s just try to take everything that reminds them of Mommy away and... DONAHUE: Yes. O’DONNELL: We’ve learned since 1973 that’s not how to do it. DONAHUE: We have-and you’re right about-well, Catholic families weren’t famous for sitting around talking about their feelings. O’DONNELL: Right. DONAHUE: You know, when your father said, Pick up the paper, you picked up the paper. But I’ve since come to her-hear so many stories of angry fathers, silent fathers, aloof fathers. And it’s not just the Catholics. I mean, we’ve heard it from... O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: So many of the older stars have come forward with their bios to talk about this. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: Now our church finds itself in the worst scandal in its history. I’m having trouble processing all of this. O’DONNELL: And you should. Every human should. Every priest should. Every spiritual person should. You cannot hide behind the cloak of the Catholic church and accept-expect to be exempt from the laws of nature and God. You can’t. And this is a disgrace that has gone generations back. And you know what? It needs to be out in the forefront. I really hope that the Catholic church gets sued until the end of time. Maybe, you know, we can melt down some of the gold toilets in the pope’s Vatican and pay off some of the lawsuits because, you know, frankly, the whole tenet of Christianity, of being pious, of living a Christ-like life, has been lost in Catholicism, I believe. And this whole scandal is so devastating spiritually, emotionally, physically, and it’s going to be financially for the Catholic church, as well. DONAHUE: Are you raising your kids Catholic? O’DONNELL: No. DONAHUE: Well, I think you speak for a growing number of Catholics. It’s the nature of what’s happening right now. You know, I think of my parents. And I want my parents to be here, as we all do. If there is any redeeming value here, my mother never saw this. And I am so grateful. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: I mean, the church was the center of our lives. O’DONNELL: Yes. The whole life. DONAHUE: Monsignor. And then when the monsignor would come and visit, you remember? O’DONNELL: At your house. Whoa! DONAHUE: That was visitation day. O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: And it was about money. You-you know... O’DONNELL: Of course. DONAHUE: Oh, my God. The priest-and my mother for three weeks cleaning the house before the priest got-monsignor-monsignor-and there’d always be a little kid in the corner, you know, would say, Poopy, you know, or something... O’DONNELL: Yes. DONAHUE: ... when the monsignor was there. O’DONNELL: Oh, my Lord! DONAHUE: Whoa! Man! I mean, people would be diving behind the couch! O’DONNELL: You know, what’s... DONAHUE: Holy cow! O’DONNELL: ... interesting is that I’m not-I was forced to go to Catholic church every Sunday of my life. I used to hide at Jackie Ellard’s (ph) pool, trying not to go to church. But you know, I don’t bring our kids to church at all. But it’s funny, because my 7-year-old is overtly spiritual and connects-he got a toddler Bible from Kelly’s mother. And he says to me at night-I go-I go, OK, pick a book. What do you want? Oh, I think I’ll take the toddler Bible. What do you think, Mom, Old Testament or New Testament? (LAUGHTER) DONAHUE: Wow! O’DONNELL: I go, You know what, Clark? I don’t know the difference. He goes, Old testament is before the birth of Jesus Christ. You know, the rainbow is God’s promise to Noah? The kid is, like, channeling some sort of Billy Graham! You know, every time he sees anything related to the Bible, he’s-it’s pretty amazing. DONAHUE: That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. We’ll be back with this mama right here-a good, loving mother-in just a moment. ANNOUNCER: She may have stepped out of the limelight, but that doesn’t mean she’s slowed down. When DONAHUE returns, Rosie fills us in on the projects she’s working on and what her future holds. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - “JUDGING AMY”) O’DONNELL: Everybody here? Fine. There are a few elephants in the room that I’d like to acknowledge before we get going. You have a very innocent face, and a very snappy suit. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maxine bought it for me. O’DONNELL: I assume you mean the suit, not your face. Maxine? That would be your DCF caseworker, is that correct? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is correct. O’DONNELL: Do you buy suits for all your charges or just those accused of murder? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are those my only choices? O’DONNELL: Pretty much. You can sit. (END VIDEO CLIP) DONAHUE: That’s delivering the goods right there. This is-that’s a scene from tomorrow night’s episode of “Judging Amy” on CBS. It airs at 10:00 PM. Watch it. Rosie guest stars as a judge on that program, as you noticed. Obviously, you’re continuing to pursue your career. And what else in your future? We can only-I mean, you’re doing stand-up. You’re doing Broadway. You sing, you dance, you do a talk show. You’re political as hell. You’re involved. You know what? You may just have the power to put together another Million Mom March on the issue of the war. I mean, you must have thought about it. Has anybody called you? Is your... O’DONNELL: Well, you know, I didn’t organize the Million Mom March. I was lucky enough to be asked to host, and to get to speak in that venue was pretty astounding. And no one thought that we would have you know, 200,000 women, never mind the amount of women and men that showed up there to say, you know, The gun violence in America has to stop. So I think there will be much more-many more marches on Washington, all over the world. We can’t ignore Europe and the fact that we are now loathed and thought of as a bully. This great country, this world leader, the leader of the free world, the United States, is being thought of as a bully across Europe and the world. It’s really-it’s unforgivable. We have to stop acting like a bully and change the policy. DONAHUE: Yes, ma’am? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Rosie. I wanted to say I think you look fantastic, for a person who is 310 pounds. What’s your secret? I mean... (APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I’ve never seen you so stealth (ph). We should all look that good. I mean, how do you feel about the tabloids? Are they picking you because you’re political? O’DONNELL: Well, I think they pick on me because I’m a good subject. You know, I mean, it is kind of funny. I was-it said, Rosie 310 pounds, and she’s collapsed. I was at Food Town with the baby in the baby seat. I almost collapsed when I saw it, you know? (LAUGHTER) O’DONNELL: And I ran right home, and I weighed myself. And I’m proud to say I still weigh less than Mike Tyson, OK? That’s all I have to let you know. (APPLAUSE) DONAHUE: Yes? Yes? You have a mike? Yes, please. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I’m a new mother. I have a 20-month-old daughter at home. And I was just wondering... O’DONNELL: Congratulations. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... if you had any advice for me, as I enter those wonderful, terrible twos? O’DONNELL: Well, I will tell this. Patience is a virtue. As my Nana used to say, it grows in the garden of few. DONAHUE: Thirty. Go. I want you to answer-this is... O’DONNELL: But you know, I’ll tell you, the best thing is spend time with them. And I realize I’m so lucky, but since I quit my job, my relationship with my 3-year-old, who was 2 when I left, is night and day. And the more time that you can spend-and I know you probably have to work and, you know, it’s a difficult situation. But spend as much time, and love them up until there’s nothing left. DONAHUE: I said to my grandson, who was 6 at the time-I said, Play with your Gameboy. He says, I can’t. I said, Why not? He says, Too much electronics. (LAUGHTER) DONAHUE: His parents! O’DONNELL: Exactly. DONAHUE: A problem my father didn’t have. Back in a moment. ANNOUNCER: He’s taken the right to bear arms to a whole new level, and he’s not apologizing for it. Wednesday on Donahue, the Motor City madman, Ted Nugent, sits down with Phil and a live audience. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) DONAHUE: Welcome back with the one and only Rosie O’Donnell. This young woman, before we end, wanted to say? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rosie, I just wanted to know if you want your children to follow you and be in show business. O’DONNELL: I hope not. I Hope they love something as much as I love show business, but for me, I think it was filling a void that I was missing in my life in some way. So I hope they become, you know, scientists or whatever-whatever their passion is. I’m praying it’s not show biz. DONAHUE: This book is titled, “Find Me.” Its author, Rosie O’Donnell. Look at this beautiful young woman on the back page. That’s the other haircut. O’DONNELL: Oh, yes! DONAHUE: All money goes to? O’DONNELL: The adoption agency that I fund. It’s called Children of the World. And we have a birth mother house, where birth mothers come and stay, and they can get nurtured and get psychological counseling. DONAHUE: You can get to Rosie through our Web site. So you want to say no more war. O’DONNELL: I want to say win without war. I want to say MoveOn.org. Please, MoveOn.org. If nothing else, just go and read it and look, and if you could sign up and tell your friends, I believe we can stop this before it’s too late. DONAHUE: Rosie O’Donnell, thank you. Here’s Chris Matthews and “HARDBALL” right here. END Copy: Content and programming copyright 2002 |