Rosie O'Donnell's View Replacement: A Man?

Could the next View co-host be a man?
Insiders are buzzing that Rosie O'Donnell's replacement could be male. Specifically, they're mentioning two names: Mario Cantone and Ross Mathews.
Cantone, a frequent guest on the ABC chat-fest, played Charlotte's friend Anthony on Sex and the City; Mathews is better known as "Ross the Intern" from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Both of the men are slated to fill in as guest co-hosts next month: Cantone will appear on The View on the July 12; Mathews will take a turn in O'Donnell's old seat on July 17.
"Barbara's really fond of Mario," says one View insider. "So who knows?"
O'Donnell herself is a big fan of Mathews. The two have co-hosted video segments on each other's blogs, and she even gave her blessing to his appearing on The View during one video blog session.
While a View spokesperson confirms that Cantone and Mathews will be guest co-hosting, he would not comment on who might fill the vacant seat permanently. "No offer has been made to anyone at this point," he said.
View executive producer Bill Geddie tells PEOPLE: "We are open to trying a variety of guest co-hosts who bring a unique voice to the show. As I have said before, some are friends of the show, some are people we thought could mix it up, some are stunts and some are potential candidates."
Former View co-host Debbie Matenopoulos has championed the idea of hiring a man ever since O'Donnell announced she was leaving. "It is high time they put a gay man on that panel," Matenopoulos tells PEOPLE. "They've said 'We can't put a man here.' I disagree. Why does it have to be guys against girls? I have a better time and solve more problems sitting with my gay guy friends than my girlfriends!"
Barbara Walters would not speculate about new co-hosts – male or female – when she was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last week. She said she and Geddie are still looking at candidates, and may take until late July to make a decision.
Other names that have been tossed around as serious contenders to join The View include Kathy Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd – all of whom have filled in as guest co-hosts in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, O'Donnell wrote on her blog Wednesday night that she would be meeting with the Price Is Right team Thursday, furthering the buzz that she'll take over for the recently retired Bob Barker.
Last week Barker told reporters at the Daytime Emmy Awards that he had "no doubt" O'Donnell would be a good host for the game show. But he told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he was neither endorsing nor choosing a replacement.
"I have not been asked for my opinion, nor have I expressed one," Barker said. "I think there are several candidates who could do the show, and Rosie is certainly one of them."
And O'Donnell herself sounded pessimistic about her chances in a recent video post on her blog: "I don't know if it's gonna work out," she told fans. "I watched that show the entire 35 years that Bob Barker was on it, and I just think it's a part of American nostalgia, and it's what America needs right now. It would be good for me, but I don't know if it's right for them."
from People

'The View' Rating Keep Going Up With Rosie

Three months into the Reign of Rosie, "The View" has become must-see TV. But is it the type of viewing that series creator Barbara Walters was bargaining for?
Rosie O'Donnell's inclusion in the daytime chat show's cast has boosted ratings but seemingly brought along a controversy du jour, the latest being this week's verbal mud fight between O'Donnell and Donald Trump that started with his backing of Miss USA after reports of her underage drinking.
Since joining in September, O'Donnell has also made waves by accusing Kelly Ripa of homophobia, mocking spoken Chinese and later apologizing, saying actions by Oprah Winfrey and pal Gayle King were "very typical of gay relationships" and saying that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam."
She also has brought renewed attention, rare for any program in its 10th season. The show's typical audience of 3.3 million this season is up 13% over the same period in 2005, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In a statement this week, Walters said she regretted the friction between O'Donnell and Trump but added that she did not regret her decision to bring O'Donnell on board.
from The Los Angeles Times

Rosie Rips Kelly for "Homophobic" Remark

Rosie O'Donnell started a bitchfight with fellow morning-diva Kelly Ripa when she accused Ripa of making a "homophobic" remark.
The fracas started on "The View" when O'Donnell said that Ripa was "homophobic" for her scolding of Aiken when he co-hosted her show the other day and playfully put his hand over her mouth, prompting Ripa to snap, "I don't know where that hand has been." Rosie suggested that if Aiken had been a "straight guy, a cute guy" or, for instance, Mario Lopez, Ripa wouldn't have made the same remark. (Aiken, of course, has never said anything publicly about his sexuality.)
Ripa was incensed enough to call into the show immediately, firing back that Rosie's accusation was "outrageous" and "irresponsible" and that Ripa made the remark last Friday because it was "cold and flu season" and that Aiken had shaken the hands of the studio audience. Rosie wasn't buying it, and in acknowledging that she admires Ripa, said that "from where I sit" as an openly gay woman, Ripa's response was homophobic.
Kelly, for her part, continued to pile on Aiken as well, saying that his behavior on last week's episode was "disrespectful," including the fact that he never thanked her for the opportunity to co-host. Kelly and the ladies agreed on one thing: guest host Sherri Shepherd's assertion that Clay probably wouldn't have muzzled Regis like he did Kelly.
from TMZ

Rosie Says Oprah Is "A Tiny Bit Gay"

Rosie O'Donnell trained her gaydar on Oprah Winfrey and her BFF Gayle King on "The View," saying that the talk-show queen and her BFF Gayle King are, despite their protestations to the contrary and despite their not being full-blown lovers, "a tiny bit gay." As the denizens of "The View" mused about Oprah and Gayle's cross-country trip, as chronicled on Oprah's season premiere Monday, Rosie turned her attention to the pair. Her assessment? "You might be a little bit gay, you're just not doin' it," she said of O and G, explaining that an absence of sex wouldn't preclude the pair from sharing in a certain sapphic satisfaction.
Whether or not she's pushing Oprah and Gayle towards an admission, Rosie also said that she thinks everyone could be "a tiny bit gay." Needless to say, her cohort and sparring partner Elisabeth Hasselbeck does not.
A call to Oprah's rep at Harpo Productions was not returned. And Rosie, on her blog yesterday, lavished praise on Oprah and the premiere, saying that she was "brilliant," "beautiful," and "something else all [sic] together."
from TMZ