Rosie O’Donnell announced that she is leaving The View today, after failing to come to contract agreement with ABC. She is expected to leave in mid-June.
Her arrival to the talk show brought increased ratings for ABC, but also controversy, as she has feuded with Donald Trump, and has frequently criticized the Bush administration.
O’Donnell is weighing many options, including returning to the first-run syndicated game as a daytime talk show host. O’Donnell hosted a successful daytime show syndicated by Warner Bros. , from June 1996 to September 2002. On that show, she was dubbed as “The Queen of Nice” (a far stretch from what she is today.)
Warner Bros. and CBS Television Distribution are among the studios interested in O’Donnell’s services.
As for The View, there is no word yet on who would replace O’Donnell. Other panelists that left the show in recent years include Lisa Ling, Star Jones, and Meredith Vierra (who has moved on to Today.)