O'Donnell may never speak to Hasselbeck

Robert Nesti READ TIME: 1 MIN.

NEW YORK - Rosie O'Donnell said she may never speak to Elisabeth Hasselbeck again following their now-infamous confrontation on "The View" on Wednesday.

In a video entry posted on her blog, O'Donnell said Hasselbeck called and spoke to her partner Kelli Carpenter for a long time. O'Donnell said she didn't speak with Hasselbeck and 'probably won't,' but they did exchange e-mails.

O'Donnell asked for, and received, an early exit from her contract at the daytime chatfest on Friday, ending her eight-month tenure on the show.

The confrontation began Wednesday over O'Donnell's statement about the war: "655,000 Iraqi civilians have died. Who are the terrorists?"

Talk show critics accused O'Donnell of calling U.S. troops terrorists. She called Hasselbeck "cowardly" for not saying anything in response to the critics.

"Do not call me a coward, because No. 1, I sit here every single day, open my heart and tell people what I believe," Hasselbeck retorted, and their riveting exchange continued despite failed attempts by their co-hosts to cut to a commercial.

During the argument, the director used a split screen with O'Donnell on one side and Hasselbeck on the other. O'Donnell said that when she saw the split screen, she "knew it was over" because that made the show look like "The Jerry Springer Show."


by Robert Nesti , EDGE National Arts & Entertainment Editor

Robert Nesti can be reached at [email protected].

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