In the 1990s, The Rosie O’Donnell Show was appointment TV. Drawing big-name celebrity guests while also spotlighting nostalgic stars, soap, Broadway actors, and more, the talk series transformed the actress, known for her work in A League of Their Own and The Flintstones, into a legend, dubbed “The Queen of Nice.”
In its six years, it won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show five times. Several bits on the series crossed into the cultural zeitgeist, especially O’Donnell’s quest to have Tom Cruise appear on the series (which he eventually did) and an emotional hour-long episode with guest (and one of O’Donnell’s heroes) Barbra Streisand.
In a recent interview with Page Six, O’Donnell revealed why she left the series behind, even as it continued to be extremely successful, in 2002. The reason, of course, was monetary. But not because she wanted more!
She left because she had $100 million in the bank.
Rosie O’Donnell
Credit: SGranitz/WireImage
“When I heard that [number], I thought, ‘OK, now I’m done,” O’Donnell said. “And everyone was like, ‘Why are you leaving?'”
There were other additional reasons, too. The mom wanted to spend more time with her children (she has adopted five kids, four of whom she had at the time of the series’ end). “I wanted to be at their softball games. I wanted to be at school plays.”
The host said that she felt she “had enough money to take care of everyone in my life, philanthropy and strangers.” She even declined when the show’s owner, Warner Bros., offered her another $100 million to continue for two more years.
“They were like, ‘Why would you say no?’ and I was like, ‘Because I already have that money and if I think I need more, something’s wrong with me,'” she said.
O’Donnell added that she didn’t “get the billionaires,” saying she doesn’t understand people who “only measure their life in money,’ thinking instead that life should be about “what they can do for other people.”
Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell on ‘The Rosie O’Donnell Show’
Credit: The Rosie O’Donnell Show
O’Donnell, who has called Ireland home base since President Donald Trump’s reelection, will be returning to a talk show desk in August, albeit of the late-night variety. Last month, Jimmy Kimmel revealed that he had tapped the Now and Then star to substitute for him during his vacation. O’Donnell has had a well-publicized, acrimonious relationship with Trump for decades.
“As a special treat for our commander-in-chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming,” the Jimmy Kimmel Live host said on the June 18 episode of his show. “So, you’re welcome. And all I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
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O’Donnell, in turn, shared a screenshot on Instagram of the link to a PEOPLE story about her guest-hosting stint with the caption, “And I can’t wait !!!”
The O’Donnell episodes will air the week of Aug. 17. In the meantime, the former View moderator is appearing in her one-woman show, Common Knowledge, on Broadway. This isn’t O’Donnell’s first foray on the Great White Way, having previously appeared in a production of Grease as Rizzo, as well as Seussical, Taboo, and Fiddler on the Roof.
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