Rosie O'Donnel is Gay ...
March 8, 2002 9:46 PM   Subscribe

Rosie O'Donnel is Gay ... Kmart to Close 284 Stores, Cut 22,000 Jobs: Coincidence? I think NOT!
posted by yevge (58 comments total)
 
Was there ever any doubt? Any woman that unattractive is usually a lesbian, or at least bisexual.
posted by wackybrit at 9:49 PM on March 8, 2002


What a horrible thing to say.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:04 PM on March 8, 2002


Bad wackybrit, bad.
posted by bshort at 10:09 PM on March 8, 2002


Was there ever any doubt? Any woman that unattractive is usually a lesbian, or at least bisexual.

Any mefite who would say that usually has inadequacy issues.
posted by jonmc at 10:21 PM on March 8, 2002


Rosie O'Donnel is talented, funny, compassionate, and has actively sought to contribute productively to society with a wide variety of activism and humanitarian support. She's no mother Theresa, but she doesn't deserve to be stereotyped because of her sexual orientation.

KMart's been losing money for years, in fitful competition with a glut of department store chains which basically stole the innovative ideas that KMart initiated decades ago. Stores like Target and WallMart do what KMart did, only they do it better and therefore are achieving more success. There is plainly no correlation between O'Donnel's recent public admission and KMart's lack of success.

Yevge & WackyBrit, I know they were attempts at being funny, but like KMart, your attempts failed miserably. I'm not attacking you, but I am questioning your blatant insensitivity. For the record I don't mind insensitivity, and am often guilty of it myself. I do mind it when such insensitivity is not funny. Besides, I'm usually attracted to lesbians, so I take WackyBrit's words personally. *smirk*
posted by ZachsMind at 10:25 PM on March 8, 2002


Good for Rosie, bad for Kmart, and what bshort said.
posted by riffola at 10:26 PM on March 8, 2002


Salvaging thread, perhaps: Is Rosie to be faulted for waiting until she's quitting her show and her book's coming out to, um, come out? Or should we all have agnosticism about personal decisions like this? Like KMart, are her efforts too little, too late?
posted by dhartung at 10:48 PM on March 8, 2002


From a purely advertising perspective, sex sells, and Rosie O'Donnel does not. Leave her sexual orientation out of it.
posted by banished at 10:55 PM on March 8, 2002


I was gonna make some ridiculous and ignorant comments about wackybrit's looks, but the pic on his website shows only the top half of his head. additionaly, the visible portion is partly obscured by text. Can't say that I'm surprised, though, because its my experience that people who take cheap shots at others rarely open themselves up to the same kind of scrutiny. This condition is commonly known as cowardice.

c'mon, mr. hearthrob, give us a real peek ...

p.s. - I've never been a Rosie fan, but she did fill out her corset in "East of Eden" rather well.

p.p.s. - does Kmart still own Borders? does anyone know if these financial problems extend past the Kmart chain into other subsidiaries? Hell, Borders has been hanging on by a thread for years, so I'm guessing that something like this could push them under as well ...
posted by hipstertrash at 11:32 PM on March 8, 2002


Is Rosie to be faulted for waiting until she's quitting her show and her book's coming out to, um, come out?

I'd say. Even though everybody and their dog *knew* her sexuality, if they cared at all, an openly gay talk show host wouldn't play as well with the soccer moms that have composed her fan base up til now. Now that the show's over, she's done her fifteen minutes, collected her cash and is free to champion her causes without hurting her income significantly.
posted by digital_insomnia at 11:34 PM on March 8, 2002


Rosie is Lebanese?
posted by Mack Twain at 11:38 PM on March 8, 2002




It seems that the real issue here is whether gay and lesbian people can be role models and admired by anyone, gay or straight, man or woman of any age.

I'm sure she knew she was a lesbian when she started her show. I would think that most if not all of her family knew she was a lesbian. So was she out? Certainly many thought she might be a lesbian. Was she dragged through the media gauntlet (gay and straight) and officially labeled and riduculed as such for our entertainment? Not until recently.

Until now she has been able to occupy a rare position in American culture; she has been presumed to be something other than straight, continues to fight for causes that have little or nothing to do with her or her celebrity and soccer moms still tune into her show.

No one has been deceived, some just want more than the requisite pound of flesh from a successful celebrity they feel is beneath them.

Now she's fighting for herself and the foster child in her care and you're surprised when (for legal reasons) she is required to actually confirm or deny her sexuality (which is the way this story got churned into the press to begin with).

The FPP was never about KMart or Rosie O'Donnell, it was about trying to knock someone down. Certainly shallow, obvious and none of your business.
posted by yonderboy at 2:23 AM on March 9, 2002


Rosie O'Donnel is talented, funny...

Talented? Hrmm. I wouldn't go that far. She a mediocre comedian who people, read: celebrities, like well enough that she was able to get her own show. Now, she's able to guru-ize everything she does and says.

...it was about trying to knock someone down. Certainly shallow, obvious and none of your business.

God forbid someone on mefi try to knock another down. I can't believe that would happen here.
posted by alethe at 2:52 AM on March 9, 2002


She's no mother Theresa, but she doesn't deserve to be stereotyped because of her sexual orientation.

No, she deserves to be stereotyped because she's just another in a long-line of H-wood "celebrities" to be famous for nothing in particular, in this case her supposed "down to earth" goodness, apparent "sincerity" (hey! Rosie's just like me - she's a FAN, too!), and her poor attempts at comedy.
posted by davidmsc at 2:55 AM on March 9, 2002


Salvaging thread, perhaps:
I like salvaging threads. It's so damn positive.
posted by holloway at 3:12 AM on March 9, 2002


'cause it's like making the best from a bad situation, y'know?
posted by holloway at 3:13 AM on March 9, 2002


Better to come out now. There are hundreds of thousands of moms who now know that a person who is a lesbian is also a person who they have related to for years.
posted by brucec at 3:36 AM on March 9, 2002


Lets take this a bit further:

Rosie is gay, K-mart closes stores.

Martha Stewart is a woman who sells allegedly high quality stuff to middle class people to make them feel like they are rich, K-mart closes stores.

Spike Lee is a racist, K-mart hires him to film a commercial, K-mart closes stores.
posted by Keen at 4:33 AM on March 9, 2002


Coincidence? I think NOT!

Well, I thought it was funny, if only for it's sheer dismissal of anything resembling Aristotelian logic. I've never found Rosie O'Donnel particularly funny, but I respect her for holding her own in a media culture that ignores women who aren't conventionally beautiful. Her sexual orientation is no one's business but her own (and her partner's, I suppose) and she shouldn't be forced to reveal or to hide it. If she and her lover are ready to take on the responsibilities of parenthood, they should be allowed to adopt a child.

wackybrit has made many insightful comments to Metafilter in the past, but this ain't one of them. Shame on him.

As to Rosie's role in the destruction of K-Mart; I hope she takes on Microsoft next. You go, girl!
posted by Loudmax at 4:34 AM on March 9, 2002


Borders just opened in the place I live. It's quite cool, but unlike all the other bookstores in the area, doesn't give me a 10% discount if I open an account with them. Given the price of Aussie books and CD's, I guess I won't be shopping there often.

I wasn't aware that it was owned by Kmart. You learn something new every other day or so.
posted by lucien at 5:05 AM on March 9, 2002


There's one thing I admire about Rosie: she stopped appearing on the front cover of her magazine after a year.
Now when is Oprah going to follow suit?
posted by faceonmars at 5:19 AM on March 9, 2002


Welcome to beautiful Lebanon, home of the Lebanese Lesbians!

ColdChef - destroy your hard drive now before it's too late, you iconoclast rogue, you. They'll never believe you when the time comes.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:22 AM on March 9, 2002


There is this assumption that because she is a lesbian, she is a different person, which is just not true.

For her, being a lesbian is just another part of who she is. If Nathan Lane came out and said, "i'm straight", everybody would be applauding, and saying how honest he is for admitting such a thing. But because it's the other way around, people are just set off by the concept.

Rosie wants to love who Rosie wants to love. It doesn't make her a liar because she didn't tell everybody who she was doing. It doesn't make her less sincere.

No one has an obligation to tell someone, or a mass of people, their personal life.
posted by benjh at 5:26 AM on March 9, 2002


If Nathan Lane told me he was straight, I'm not sure my reaction would be to think he's being honest.
posted by NortonDC at 6:03 AM on March 9, 2002


Borders isn't owned by KMart anymore. They had a management buyout a couple of years back. They're actually doing quite at present.

Here's an analysis of their individual share quote just to prove it!
posted by nedrichards at 6:10 AM on March 9, 2002


Now when is Oprah going to follow suit?

Never, I hope. Seeing her on the cover of Oprah the Magazine month after month is good for a laugh. Winfrey's head is so big it has its own atmosphere.
posted by rcade at 6:21 AM on March 9, 2002


pardon me for pigpiling...

A "woman that unattractive" generally doesn't give a shit what you think. Which is, to me, far more attractive than a 24-inch waist and collagen lips any day. Fortunately for the wackybrits of the world, there are plenty of lacquered bimboes available to hang on your arm, bat their lashes at your wacky remarks, and generally not challenge your perception of 'proper' womandom. Vive la difference.

I think there's some truth in brucec's comment. If she'd've launched her show with a bunch of "She's here, she's queer, she's on daytime TV" hoopla, there might've been an Ellen-esque perception that the show's sole gimmick was that a lesbian was the host... and yeah, probably there's a bunch of housewives who wouldn't have started watching if that were the case, dismissing Rosie from day one as being The Other and therefore to be avoided. (Which might've been good for Kmart---they'd've gone shopping instead?---oh, never mind.)
posted by Sapphireblue at 7:43 AM on March 9, 2002


The times I've watched Rosie in this or that (mostly her talkshow), I've been quite impressed. She's not afraid to make fun of herself, she's not afraid to speak her mind, and she doesn't seem to really give a shit whether you approve or disapprove of her.

That's a lot more than can be said for someone like Oprah or Martha, both of whom seem to me to be addicted to fame, mainlining their popularity like a junkie does heroin.

And Rosie has been very public about putting her money where her mouth is. That's really cool. Ol' Oprah-baby has more money than god, and by all appearances seems to be sitting on it. Rosie at least gives it away like candy, to umpteen causes she believes in. She's done a helluva lot of good, she has.

Couldn't care less who or what Rosie has sex with. But, then, I've never much cared who or what *anyone* has sex with....
posted by five fresh fish at 8:36 AM on March 9, 2002


"There are hundreds of thousands of moms who now know that a person who is a lesbian is also a person who they have related to for years."

Why does everyone assume that Rosie's main target audience, these constantly-referred-to generic "moms" or "soccer moms", would have avoided her show like the plague had she come out years ago? Just because a woman pops out a couple of babies doesn't mean she's instantly averse to lesbians or anyone else different to her in any way.

It's insulting to insinuate that a mother isn't able to relate to things outside of her own home and experiences. Maybe you know an assumed heterosexual "soccer mom" or two who might have had lesbian or bisexual relationships. I know a woman who would be seen by many fit the "soccer mom" profile - she was in a long-term lesbian relationship but is now married with two children. That's but one example.

I like Rosie because she seems interesting, funny, and cool, and I wouldn't turn away from her show simply because she came out. Whatever - who she loves in whatever way is her business, and it doesn't make any difference to her ability to raise children, either.
posted by sammy at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2002


There may be a legitimate connection between Kmart taking on Rosie and their current mess, though it's a rather small one and isn't really about her sexual preferences; it's about her anti-gun stance. A lot of gun owners stopped shopping at Kmart once they started using Rosie as their spokeswoman. I don't know how much of an effect this alone had on their bottom line, as God knows their stores have been a mess for years anyway. But it couldn't have helped.
posted by aaron at 11:13 AM on March 9, 2002


For those convinced that WackyBrit was making a literal statement about female appearances:

Facetious
\Fa*ce"tious
adj : cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"; "tongue-in-cheek advice" [syn: bantering, tongue-in-cheek]

See also: irony, sarcasm
posted by Karl at 11:31 AM on March 9, 2002


Aside note: the magazine Maxim, a while back, was giving advice to guys on how to delay orgasm. The mag instructed two pump chumps to envision Rosie, sitting on the crapper, eating a large bucket of greasy fried chicken.

Not that I ever needed to. Or anything.
posted by adampsyche at 11:47 AM on March 9, 2002


ohhh! see, I totally missed the 'clever'. also, the 'amusing'.
posted by Sapphireblue at 11:50 AM on March 9, 2002


If Nathan Lane told me he was straight, I'm not sure my reaction would be to think he's being honest.

Especially since he's been "publicly" out for a good half-dozen years. Hakuna matata, indeed.

Why does everyone assume that Rosie's main target audience, these constantly-referred-to generic "moms" or "soccer moms", would have avoided her show like the plague had she come out years ago? Just because a woman pops out a couple of babies doesn't mean she's instantly averse to lesbians or anyone else different to her in any way.

Consider it bad shorthand labelling. In this case, "soccer mom" would be better described as "middle American average wife-and-mother who has had limited - if any - exposure to gays and most of that conforming to someone's stereotype, be that the negative 'entertainment' stereotype of the pre-Ellen, pre-Will & Grace days, the extraodrinarily negative Falwell-esque stereotype or something in between, and therefore might not realise or wish to recognise that she can and absolutely would be able to relate to a lesbian because the only difference between her and a lesbian is sexual preference." But that takes far too long to write.
posted by Dreama at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2002


ohhh! see, I totally missed the 'clever'. also, the 'amusing'.

I'm not saying it was the height of cleverness. But it's a little surprising to see a flippant remark that's obviously making fun of the stereotype, not perpetrating it, be responded to so virulently. Or humorlessly.
posted by Karl at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2002


Bisexual soccer moms....mmmm....
posted by black8 at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2002


I'm just amazed that this is considered "news". Back when Ellen had her big coming out hoopla, she was a guest on Rosie's Mid-Afternoon Schmooze-fest. Ellen quipped that people were making a big deal because she was divulging she's "lebanese" on the show, to which Rosie replied "Who knows? Maybe I'm lebanese too!"

I mean, I realize I'm revealing something about myself that (1) I admit to watching her show back then and (2) I actually remember it, but I think it stems from the fact that I'm jealous that Rosie managed to convey the pop-culture attic that is her brain into quite the profitable enterprise. If only I'd thought of it first.
posted by likorish at 12:33 PM on March 9, 2002


I'm not saying it was the height of cleverness. But it's a little surprising to see a flippant remark that's obviously making fun of the stereotype, not perpetrating it, be responded to so virulently. Or humorlessly.

What's the issue here? It was either a lame attempt at humor too ambiguous to be funny, or a troll. Again: a horrible thing to say. And obviously making fun of the stereotype? Please.
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:27 PM on March 9, 2002


Maybe she and Martha Stewart can console each other...
posted by ParisParamus at 1:37 PM on March 9, 2002


rosie o'donnell rules. postively constant cheer. it's like christmas year-round.

other guilty pleasures?: The Other Half.

Dick Clark? Danny Bonaduce? That guy from "Saved By the Bell"? it just doesn't make any damn sense. television execs: this is what i want from tv!

either that or more PBS (and none of that crappy dr. wayne dyer or constant re-runs of Gods of Doo-wop).

(also, yes, Fox, I'm eagerly awaiting your cra-zeee celebrity boxing matches.)
posted by fishfucker at 1:44 PM on March 9, 2002


This kooshball smells like fish..
posted by Settle at 6:53 PM on March 9, 2002


Someone on here said that Oprah never gives anything to charity or doesn't appear to be giving anything away? Might want to check out this page. She's also a fan of Habitat for Humanity, and funded a Habitat house in my hometown of Kosciusko, Miss, also Oprah's hometown. The house has all (censored) Pottery Barn furniture in it. I kid you not.
posted by raysmj at 10:06 PM on March 9, 2002


Something that may or may not be related. I've wondered since the announcement was made, why Rosie O'Donnell was giving up her show to Caroline Rhea? Why is Rosie quitting her show? It's not like it suffers in the ratings.

A more interesting correlation than the KMart irony, did O'Donnell orchestrate this? Did she know that her sexuality would become public knowledge eventually and didn't want her show to become fodder for the media shark frenzy that would ensue? It's something I read recently regarding David Letterman's switch from NBC to CBS and theoretical switch to ABC: he insists that his production company WorldWide Pants has control over that timeslot, even if he retires. This isn't a decision for him, but a decision for his production company - job security for the employees that got him where he is today.

Did O'Donnell know that someone somewhere knew the truth about her, and she feared if it came out before she was ready, that overnight her show would dry up and all the people who invested their time and effort and careers on her namesake would all suddenly be left out in the cold? Because she's a lesbian?

And if that's plausible, what does this say about the television industry, the media, and America as a whole?
posted by ZachsMind at 11:03 PM on March 9, 2002


The original post was hardly a serious insight into Rosie O'Donnell's media career, so could it be expected that any response would also be serious in tone?

I wasn't actually trying to be facetious or 'clever' in the way that Karl speculated. I was just getting the topic off to a start that would accurately match the intellectual level of MeFi lately. If I was being facetious at all, I was being facetious about the amount of bitching and pointless remarks taking place on MeFi in recent months.

Really, this has turned into a great place to bitch at each other and get away with it.. because everyone's doing it. Doesn't matter though, most online communities go through a bitchy phase (USENET circa 97, Slashdot circa 99/00) at least once.
posted by wackybrit at 11:36 PM on March 9, 2002


Oh, while we're at it:

I was gonna make some ridiculous and ignorant comments about wackybrit's looks, but the pic on his website shows only the top half of his head. additionaly, the visible portion is partly obscured by text. Can't say that I'm surprised, though, because its my experience that people who take cheap shots at others rarely open themselves up to the same kind of scrutiny. This condition is commonly known as cowardice.

That is exactly the type of bickering I'm talking about. Yet again someone gets all flustered by a remark, and then tries to sound really smart by bitching in a post :-)

By the way, if you really do want some pr0n shots of me, just drop me an e-mail. I don't bite.
posted by wackybrit at 11:41 PM on March 9, 2002


don't you have some bridge to hang out under..?
posted by patricking at 1:55 AM on March 10, 2002


haha, exactly peekay, when all three definitions converge like that, you know it's the end of the thread
posted by yonderboy at 3:50 AM on March 10, 2002


Zachsmind,

Rosie has stated that she wants to spend more time with her kids. I don't blame her. She has the money to support her family without working, more power to her.

I will miss her show. I've watched her since the start and I really enjoy it. Hopefully Caroline Rhea will do as good as a job as Rosie.

(And I'm not a soccer mom, hell, I'm not a mom at all.)
posted by SuzySmith at 5:42 AM on March 10, 2002


don't you have some bridge to hang out under..?

I don't consider wackybrit a troll. His comments are more suitable for MeTa, no doubt, but his points are valid. The post started as an assinine attempt at humor; he followed up with something equally stupid.

yonderboy, you linked a definition of an internet troll, but did you actually read it? The front page post was a troll.
posted by BlueTrain at 9:57 AM on March 10, 2002


rosie is not gay after all. turns out she's just big boned.
posted by quonsar at 11:10 AM on March 10, 2002


Rosie has stated that she wants to spend more time with her kids.
so does paula poundstone! coincidence?
quonsar lurches back under the bridge.
posted by quonsar at 12:05 PM on March 10, 2002


ohhh! see, I totally missed the 'clever'. also, the 'amusing'.
lebanese bitch.
posted by quonsar at 12:16 PM on March 10, 2002


Quonsar, that's really crossing the line.
posted by rodii at 1:08 PM on March 10, 2002


that would be the line representing the edge of the box i am standing outside of.
posted by quonsar at 4:21 PM on March 10, 2002


quonsar that's fine man just keep doing the envelope thing
posted by DaRiLo at 4:29 PM on March 10, 2002


Beautiful post! Sort of like smoking a cigarette while you fill up your gas tank.
posted by jchotz at 5:33 PM on March 10, 2002


*head explodes*
posted by rodii at 3:43 PM on March 11, 2002


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