Rosie O’Donnell Talks About ‘Physically Scaring’ Barbara Walters

We all knew that things had gotten rather grim on set by the time Rosie O’Donnell left The View. We knew things had gotten rather tense. But if the following interview is any guide, the usual cabin fever and paranoia that attends the implosion of any high-profile showbiz experiment here reached Hitler-in-the-bunker proportions. Comparing Barbara Walters, with all possible irreverence, to Helen Mirren’s Queen, and repeatedly noting, with all possible incredulity, how incredibly old Barbara is, Rosie goes on to describe an incident in which she – all “200 pounds” of her – physically menaced the matriarch of American talk-TV.

Rosie’s celebrity has always been a function of her willingness to be alarmingly candid about uncomfortable subjects in front of lots and lots of people, so the following clip, from an appearance she made on Oprah in front of, yes, lots and lots of people, should come as little surprise. See it for yourself below – and note how Oprah, who worships Walters, all but suffers a hernia straining to stay neutral.

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