Why does everyone hate Rosie so much? — Page 2

First of all, the title of this thread is a question that maybe should have been asked differently. As evident from just some of the posts in this very thread EVERYONE does not hate Rosie. What has happened, IMO, is typical of many performers. People raise them high on a pedestal and then keep them there for a while before they decide to knock them down.

When Rosie's talk show was on and she exposed Broadway to a great many people who would have never known much about the shows playing, she was hailed as a Queen and a champion of Broadway. When she hosted the Tonys there was almost universal praise for her. If you search this board you will see that MANY people wanted her to continue hosting the show.

So what happened? Well, she had a failure as a producer with "Taboo" and she decided to not continue her talk show. So, as is the case with most people who have been placed on a pedestal, it was time to tear her down. Even people on this board who had praised her a year or two ago were/are jumping on that bandwagon. She was yesterday's news. It's unfortunately just the way that people are treated.

As for a few of the comments in this thread. wicked_mimi's observation about Rosie being too outspoken and having opinions about everything. Well, that sounds like everyone on this board. She had a talk show, a forum she could use to express her opinions and she used it to promote Broadway and she also used it to speak out against Tom Selleck's support for the NRA (if I had a show, I would have done the same - especially after Columbine). Is speaking out about one thing more acceptable than speaking out about the other? It's her show and her opinion. They must have decided to give a show for a reason, and I don't think that anyone ever thought that she was a passive person or a wilting flower. Oh, and I did not know that there was a dress code for celebrities.

There is no doubt that there was/is a great deal of jealously involved as well. I would venture to say, even more jealously exhibited by many people when other "stunt casting" takes place on Broadway.

As for the "shutting down"of her show, a simple google search can give everyone the facts on exactly what transpired there.

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Updated On: 12/24/05 at 07:52 PM

While I'll keep my opinion about Rosie performing to myself, I hope she keeps on producing new work. I wasn't a big fan of Taboo but I know a lot of people really liked it, but it was kind of a wrong time and wrong place sort of show.

On the other hand, I would love to see her putting her money behind young artists. While revivals and massive commercial ventures (Grease, Seussical) are nice and all, if she wants to breed Broadway she should keep on encouraging more of a creative flow, and not let one flop discourage her from doing that.

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I think Rosie divides so many people for many reasons.

When she was starting out in standup, she was a big, brassy in-your-face dyke. She transformeed herself into a big, cuddly, in your face sexless "gal" for her chat show. Some of us who remembered her from early on at first thought it was a brilliantly cheeky if not subversive show, but after Rosie began to repeatedly flutter her eyes at Tom Cruise, we found her a bit exasperating, despite all the positive publicity she brought to Broadway. In her bid for greater fame, she seemed to have lost her grit, and Michael Musto and Lea DeLaria ragged on her for years for this as well as being closeted in plain sight. Though she eventually did come out (after she pulled the plug on her show), she she earned more emity right after 9-11 for gushing about the president: "Rosie loves Bush!" was the leering headling from Drudge.

With her fame came the reports that TV's "Queen of Nice" was a hellion backstage, and sad to say, these reports continued once she got involved with McCalls and "Rosie" magazine, where she was really in over her head. And the fiasco of TABBOO! demonstrated that she was well-intentioned but inept as a novice producer. And though her decision to not get involved in similar ventures in the future is understandable (how many millions did she lose?) I'm sorry that she didn't say "I know what NOT to do for the next time." It took guts to put TABOO! on Broadway, and I'd love to see her behind something similarly edgy in the future. I'm glad her gay family cruises are a big sucess now, and she's back to being a big brassy in-your-face dyke once again. And now that dancin' Ellen's gone all cuddly and toothless, I wish THE REAL Rosie would come back to a chat show again, promote Broadway and mix it up the way we always thought she could.

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Updated On: 12/24/05 at 09:13 PM

wicked_mimi... you really shouldnt assume things that you dont know at all.... #1- she doesnt have boydguards who carry guns, I know a close personal friend of hers and she doesnt have a bodyguard with her unless needed, and they do not carry guns... even if they did she's not against people who's job is to protect people and are allowed to carry weapons, she is against people owning assault weapons and it being legal... And she can speak about whatever she wants on her OWN show because he is a spokesperson for the NRA and who else better to speak to, then someone who publicly tells the nation they speak on behalf of this organization?
#2-She also left her talk show knowing very well it was going to end, it did not get shut down because she is too political... I dont know where your information comes from but it's completely wrong ... I know my information is true because like I said I know a close personal friend... People can hate her for her opinions but not on this information you supplied which is completely made up or informed incorrectly

I personally find her a tad bit trailer-park-trash-esque and a little bit unprofessional. I met her at TABOO, sitting next to her, and she had one of the foulest mouths I've ever heard.

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Rosie is such an amazing and smart person. I think the reason why some people dont like her is because they feel she is a poseur. I personaly think she is amazing!

#1- she doesnt have boydguards who carry guns, I know a close personal friend of hers and she doesnt have a bodyguard with her unless needed, and they do not carry guns...

So did that change or something, because back in the day (yet after the Selleck incident) a bodyguard with a concealed weapons permit was with her then 4 yr old at kindergarten: http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6542,00.html
(although she did say he would only be armed off of school grounds.)

Two-fold....I remember paying top price to see her as Rizzo in that awful 90's revival of "Grease." She was nauseatingly unbelievable and off-key in her butch interpretation. This was selfish exploitation. SHE HAD AND HAS NO BUSINESS ON A BROADWAY STAGE.....
Secondly, she came along as Broadway's "savior" during the "Disneyfication" period and everything she has promoted seems to be on the increasingly "Kiddie-Low Brow Chitty Chitty" end of the theater spectrum that many of we purists whine about... I know this sounds snobbish.....and it proudly is!

Was this question about people in general disliking her.. OR
The Broadway community turning their backs on her?

In either case:
General- As with any outspoken liberal on mass media...The Conservatives (who also control the air waves) made her out to be a freak when she started to pose a threat to them. I applaud her for spearheading lots of wonderful causes, especially the "gay adoption" campaign. As long as the majority of America continues to accept EVERYTHING that is being forced fed by the Media and our government and not question such things... then we will continue to have this discussion...

Broadway- Let's face it. We are all critics. She did bring Broadway to the masses (which by the way is the reason I got into theatre) and she was a great great supporter of the arts. TABOO was not as wonderful as people had hoped it been, and it probably would have been the same fate had she NOT produced it. Her campaigning for TABOO was that of a very confident producer, which sometimes can label you Egotistical... So- I think that people are really split on liking her or not, based on her previous acts (supporting Martha, etc..) and her efforts to continue on Broadway... What I, personally don't understand is when she hosted the TONY'S it was the highest ratings they ever got, and yet after declining number every single year.. they still bring back Hugh Jackman...

Does anyone know if she was asked to do it again? Or does she refuse to do it again?

Robert

Rosie has no musical/thespian related talent.

Simple 'nuff.

double-edged sword, here. Mainly, I think people object to Rosie because she is outspoken. Whatever the subject may be (her sexuality, politics, Broadway, whatever,) she is outspoken and in your face about it, and she doesn't bend her opinion or back down from it for anyone or anything, and this can really rub LOTS of people the wrong way.

As for the Tom Selleck thing on her talk show-- well, I always liken this to the Micheal Moore Oscar acceptance speech (for Bowling for Columbine.) And I am a huge Michael Moore fan, too, don't get me wrong. But basically? Yes, it is great to have your opinions, and to be passionate about something, but it is also your responsibility to know that there is a time and a place for all things, and that airing your greivances at an innapropriate moment will not only (more likely than not) backfire in your face--it will also make you look like the less intelligent person, which will hurt your chances to get your message across when it IS the right moment.

But as to Rosie only promoting the "Disneyfication" of Broadway? Well, that's just completely untrue in my opinion. Rosie is obviously a musical theater lover, and (from what I could tell) she invited the singers and/or casts from the shows she had personally seen and liked to perform on ROSIE. She didn't invite them to serve any kind of network agenda or otherwise contrived agenda--if there's one thing that can be said of Rosie, it is probably that she ran that talk show like she runs her career---the way she wanted to run it-- and that she had on guests that she respected and/or admired. I seem to recall seeing guests from shows like SIDESHOW (Disney fare? Really now?) and RAGTIME among the guests from shows like THE LION KING. And regardless of whether Rosie helped "sell" the supposed "Disneyfication" of Broadway, at least she got viewers interested in theater. And getting interested is the first crucial step. Rosie really did a lot for the medium in general.

And as for Rosie in person? Well, the only time I have ever seen her in person was at the Kristin Chenoweth Carnegie Hall concert last September. She was with her wife, and in jeans and a t-shirt, and didn't have bodyguards with her (that I can recall) and pretty much got mobbed by the audience at intermission. From what I could see, she very graciously took pictures, talked to people, shook their hands, and was generally very accomodating. One girl in particular I remember posted on a message board (can't remember what site) after the concert, telling a story about how she had spoken to Rosie during intermission, and that Rosie was quite down to earth and refreshingly fangirly. The girl told Rosie that she was a huge Kristin fan, and Rosie apparently told this girl an entire Barbra Streisand story from her childhood, and how thrilling it was when Rosie actually met Barbra for the first time.

I think all celebrities have their "moments" when they really don't want to be bothered. If you lived your life under a microscope, you would probably feel that way too from time to time. But what I like about Rosie is that, for the most part, she seems to see herself as just another person who happened to get lucky. She's a fangirl living the dream, and she knows it, and she always says that she knows it, and she doesn't pretend to be anything else. Whether or not that is really REAL, I don't know, because I've never met her. But like I said, I find it refreshing and honest, and I respect that about her.

cubbiegirl ---

When we went to her dressing room at Fiddler, she was nice. Super nice. Fake nice. I felt like a huge outsider. Three out of the five of us that won the contest (there were only supposed to be three, but five were chosen) had never been to broadway before. The essay was supposed to be about why you love broadway. And in my opinion, I don't think you can love something you've never experienced. So I think most of it was a joke, a way to get these housewives to broadway and disguise it as talented writing. The essay wasn't about loving musical theater, or shows -- it was about broadway.

I just saw right through the whole nice act. She was genuine to me, I think, because I was the youngest of the group (I'm 19). I went back a week later because a) I was supposed to meet up with her assistant, Pete and b) because she told me to go say hello since I said I'd be around. And when I went, she just had no idea. I thanked her for the weekend and she was like "Huh, what?" And just her whole attitude before and after me explaining who I was did a whole 180.

I just rambled way too much. Oops.

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Thanks for the explanation greenifyed. That is sad that it that happened that way. Who knows what the explanation is.

Glad you won anyway!

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