Rosie O'Donnell

27:17And I'm like, what is the Mariana Trench? Oh, it's the deepest part of the earth ever recorded, mom. It's near Guam. Come on. That's common knowledge. And I said, oh, what does common knowledge mean? This little eight-year-old, right? It's things everyone should know, but not everyone does. She said, they say, and I'm like, okay, can you give me some examples? And I kid you not, this is what they said. The Appalachian Mountains have been around since before Saturn had its rings. Common knowledge. Flamingos can drink boiling hot water without incurring any internal damage. Common knowledge. Cleopatra was alive closer to the advent of the iPhone than the completion of the Pyramids of Giza.

27:56Common knowledge. I was like, what the hell? And I asked her, I said, honey, where do you keep that info? and they said, I have a file folder and I like to bring it out at inappropriate times. I'm like, way to go. Way to go, kiddo. You know? And so this title for this show, your one woman show, what was it like, I mean, physically to do a one woman show, Rosie, that's a lot. I bet. What do you do to prep? How do you, how do you manage it? Cause I'm always trying to figure out how people are managing their energy. Well, I will tell you that when, And, you know, we did this sort of as a proof of concept because I had done it in Europe.

28:38Yeah. And it really is a love letter to Ireland and to Clay. Yeah. You know, that's what it is. And there's very little politically. There's a little thing about why we moved in Trump, but it's not the focus of the show in any capacity. And it really is about this love letter. And we had to change some things because I didn't know if they would get the Irish, you know, the intense Irish stories that they get over in Ireland and Scotland. Because you did it first at Edinburgh? I did it in Edinburgh a year ago. A year ago, yeah. And then I did it in Dublin and went to Scotland, went to Sydney, Australia, did the Opera House, which was unbelievable.

29:12Wow. Really wonderful. And, you know, there were two parts of it that were very emotional. One is when I open on The Day My Mother Died. The show opens with that. And there's dead silence in the audience. And then I say, I know what you're thinking. Did I buy the wrong ticket? Isn't this a comedy show? I didn't want to come to Angela's ashes, the musical. Come on, Rosie. You know, so I throw that in and then I go, don't worry, there'll be fun. There'll be jokes, you know. And at the very end, I tell the last time I saw my mother. So it's bookended by these very emotional parts that when I first started doing it, I couldn't do them without crying.

29:51Yeah. And as an actress, you know, if you had a scene where you have to talk about you don't want to cry in the scene, you want to fight the crying in the scene. Right. So I just started to think of it as an actress, like, OK, I'm an actress. I'm not me. This is not my mom. This is let me just tell this as if I was a character in a movie. And I was finally able to perform it.

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31:34you first went to Ireland right after your mom died yes first time yes first time in a plane and Donegal Donegal yes then you know I would imagine that would be associated with a lot of trauma but did you find when you when you were there like what made you return to Ireland because it feels like it would be attached to this terrible moment in your life and you'd almost like never want to go again, but you found something in that visit? Well, I still have cousins there. And so when my father took us there, I didn't understand why he did it. It was the height of the troubles. It was 1973. There was tremendous unrest.

32:10And Donegal is very close to the Northern Irish border. And my cousins were wily little guys and they were in their late, late teens. And so they got us in trouble. You know, they would shoot cap guns and try to provoke the British army and helicopters would come above where we were playing and they'd go hide. And now I look back and I go, that was taking our lives into our hands. But I think I realized as I was writing this play, like, why did my father take us there? Not to talk about grief because nobody mentioned my mother or her death after she died. It was to show us how to survive it the Irish way, which is you get on with it.

32:49You carry on. You don't swim in the sadness. You just move on just like the weather. That's right. You deal with it. Yeah, it's all about behavior. It's all about like just do things, like fake it till you make it, kind of like active action rather than discussing any real. Which, as we all know, does not work. It doesn't work. Exactly. All the Irish Catholic people out there going, yes, let's have a drink. Yeah, that's right. It doesn't work. It does not work. Yeah, it doesn't work. Little Tiny Rosie. Yeah. Funny always. popular. Yes. Homecoming queen and class clown. That doesn't happen a lot.

33:29I know. And I was prom queen and student council president. Nailed it. And I did all the plays and played all the sports like a good lesbian. So. So you crushed it. I crushed it in high school. How do you then get in? How do you then decide I'm going to do stand up? I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be on Broadway. So when I was in 10th grade, my brother was a senior and they asked me to write the script for Senior Follies, where you make fun of the teachers. And you know what I did? I took the Saturday Night Live album with Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin and Gilda and Lorraine Newman. And I took all the jokes and I just rewrote them for, like there was a joke about a teacher who was flat chested, which I took directly from there.

34:15It's like Miss Barron, more on that story as it develops, you know, because, and I just put everything about someone in the school. And they were like, oh, this. And they were like, you're a genius. A genius. And I also did Rosanna, Rosanna Dana. I heard. And this guy comes over to me and he goes, my brother, Craig Minervini, is in this school and I'm a standup comedian and I just opened a comedy club in Huntington and I'd like you to come down and do standup comedy. I said, no, no, I'm going to be on Broadway. I want to be a Bette Midler backup singer, one of the Harletts. I want to be in a chorus line.

34:51Now, the fact that I couldn't really sing or dance didn't really stop me because I had a lot of enthusiasm. Yep. But I so he had me go there first night. Everyone from my high school was there. And I did jokes like Maryland's going out with Mitchell and Greg doesn't know. And people who paid money are like, what the? And the audience is laughing like you can't believe because it's my high school friends. Because they all showed up. Correct. Well, the next night was a school night. Yeah. And I went in and I died a horrible death. So I had in the first two nights at 16 years old, the greatest night of my life, the first night and the worst night of my life, the second night.

35:30And then he said, well, here's what I want to do. You're welcome to come here anytime. You don't have to pay to get in. You sit in the back with us comics and you watch and you learn. And after about four months, Shirley Hemphill from What's Happening came in. Yes. She saw me at the open mic night and she went over to Richie Minovini and said, little one's opening for me. And Richie said, she's not ready. And Shirley said, either she goes on with me or I don't go on. And she would sell out. Shirley Hemple when I started, you know, in the 80s was like pretty huge star. Yeah. And she got me paid twenty five dollars a show, which when you're 16 years old is like a million dollars.

36:12Sure. And started my whole career. Wow. And then she got me with her manager, Bernie Young, who ended up the executive producer of my show. I mean, you did, Rosie, you're the start of your career is like getting discovered at the soda shop. Like the fact that people saw you, said you're funny, come here, you get there. They're like, you're funny. Stay with me. Then you're 20 or something. And Ed McMahon's daughter says, go on Star Search. I mean, people are really noticing. You were just, you were making huge impressions really fast on people. Right. And it was shocking to me. And I was like, really?

36:48Like when Claudia McMahon came over to me in that same club that Richie Minovini owned, and she said, you know, my name is Claudia McMahon. Ed McMahon's my dad. And I'm going to get you on Star Search. I thought, yeah, right. This is some psycho person who doesn't, you know, have any connection. She has the same last name. And the next day there's a phone call. Hi, it was Star Search calling for Rosie O'Donnell. And I was booked. There might be people listening who don't remember who Ed McMahon is. And we talked about Johnny Carson. Ed McMahon was Johnny's sidekick. Thank you. And like had a really distinctive laugh and would just kind of like support Johnny, but then became a host in his own right and hosted this show called Star Search, which was back then.

37:29Huge. Beyond. I mean, I can't even imagine what the numbers were of people that were, and huge names were on Star Search. Beyonce was on Star Search. Who else was on Star Search? God, I have a laptop. I have so many people. There's so many people who were on that show and went on to great things. But, you know, I got there and every week that you won, you had to stay because they did it live. Oh, right. You had to stick around. Yeah. I had to stick around at the sunset, Hyatt on sunset. I had no money. I walked every day to Carney's, the hot dog stand. And for like$3, I got a small Coke and a hot dog.

38:05And that's what I lived on by the fifth or sixth episode. I was the thinnest I'd ever been. I'm like, this is how you lose weight apparently. And, you know, but I won like 20 something thousand dollars, which to me was unbelievable. Unbelievable. I walked to the Mazda dealership. I walked with my$26 ,000 in my pocket and I bought a stick shift, which I didn't know how to drive, a Mazda 626, brand new with no air conditioning in California. And I paid above the sticker price. They saw me come in and then listen, the guy says to me, do you want the undercoating? I said, I don't know. Do you think I need it?

38:45In LA. You don't need the undercoating. There's no snow. And I got the full winterized package for my non-air conditioning. It was unbelievable to me, but yes, I've had a very lucky ride, Amy, and I don't ever forget it. And that's why I try to help other people. Okay. But Rosie, I'm going to say yes, luck, of course, but also you had something, you had a real drive. You had a desire to be heard, obviously seen you, you wanted to perform, you felt it, you, you went, you took big risks, big swings. Like people can say, come, come do the, come to the comedy club, but you have to go, you have to write your act.

39:24You have to think about it. You have to, there was something really indomitable about your spirit, especially as a young person where you're like, I gotta, I gotta be heard. Yes. It's so true. I wanted that, you know, in a way that's hard for me to even articulate or find the origin of, you know, it really is. And I did want, I didn't have material just to be clear. The third day that I went back after the two horrible days, I went back and I went up, they gave me five minutes and I had just watched Merv Griffin and Jerry Seinfeld was on. And I was like, oh, that's funny. You know? So I go onto the stage.

40:00Not only do I do his act, I do his cadence and his delivery. I'm like, I'm driving here in my First off, I'm thinking, hey, why don't I open the hood? What am I looking for? A big on-off switch? On-off? It was totally Jerry Seinfeld. Did you ever tell Jerry that you did that? Oh, yeah, yeah. And so I walk off the set and I get swarmed by five older male comedians. I'm a teenager, remember. Oh, no. They're like, where'd you get that joke? I said, Jerry Seinfeld. He was on Merv. And they go, it's Seinfeld. And those are his jokes. And you can't do his jokes. I'm like, wait a second. Why can't I do his jokes?

40:37They said, because you have to write them yourself. I'm like, Barbara Streisand does not write her own songs. Why do I have to write my own jokes? I'm not a writer. I'm just funny. They said, that's what you have to do. And so it took me a while of being an emcee to get material. Wow. And to learn to talk about your own family. Wow. And that's how I did it. Wow. I mean, you talked about doing Gilda's thing. Did you ever meet Gilda or any of those? Once. You did. I would have loved to have met her. I was doing one woman show, Gilda Live in DC. And I went and I had this older man, again, another person who helped me, who saw me at a little comedy club at like the ground round where you could have a burger and throw the peanut shells on the floor.

41:20You know, so you'd be doing your act and you'd hear, we have a pickup on three, pickup on three. It's a cheeseburger. It's getting cold. Vinny, come on. In the middle of your act, you know? Yeah. So I was at this ground round and this older man, I mean, in his 80s, Lou Levy, impresario. That's what his card said. Impresario Lou Levy. We need to bring back business cards. We really do. It was a big thing. But he knew someone who knew Gilda and said, go backstage. And I did. I went backstage and she was leaving out the back door. And I followed her out the back door and I said, excuse me, excuse me, Gilda.

41:59And she said, yes. And I said, do you know impresario Lou Levy? And she was like, no. And like looking around for security, you know, like, and I said, oh, okay. He told me that I could come back and meet you. And she said, yeah, I don't know him, honey. It's okay. But she was not mean to me. She didn't like, you know, throw me aside. She looked me in the eye. She stopped. But she, you know, I used to do her because my name is Roseanne. Right. And, you know, Rosanna, Rosanna. You ever notice you have a little piece of spit between your lips and it goes up and down and up and down? I would do her every talent show at my school.

42:35It was kind of like that was how you told people you were into comedy was by memorizing SNL. Totally. And that's what I did. Yeah, yeah. And it was so unbelievable when I got to host. Yeah. I was looking up the musical guests when you hosted. Yeah. James Taylor and Whitney Houston. Yes, exactly. Yeah, the second time Penny was supposed to host. But, you know, Penny often had a big gulp and we don't know what was in it, let's just say. And so she could come or walked over from the SNL set to my studio, which was right on the same floor. And she goes, Rosie, they want me to host, but I'm only doing it with you.

43:15Will you do it with me? And I said, OK. And I went in and I did it. And, you know, Whitney. What was it like to meet Whitney? You know, I really loved her and I really, that voice is once a generation. Agree. But when I had my show, we were doing a full episode on Cinderella and Brandy was on and Whitney was supposed to be on and she canceled 10 minutes before and it was a live show. Yikes. And I remember going on the show and saying, Whitney, you better be sick in that hotel. It was a time during those times, too, when there just wasn't as much discussion in general about people's mental health, certainly about addiction in any way.

43:56Or addiction, without a doubt. Yeah. And, you know, you were hosting—you hosted before I got to SNL, but you were doing your show at the same time. We were in the same building at the same time when you were doing the Rosie Odomo show. It was studio— 8H. Yeah. Well, we were 8H. Oh, no. I was 8H. H-E, yes. Where Seth is now. Yes, that's right. You were in, that's right. And so I can remember, because you were, because you were daytime, your stuff would be kind of done before we would be cranking. Starting, yes. Yeah. And the rare nights that, you know, we'd be there all night working, your crew would be coming in.

44:33It was like the day shift and the night shift. It was so cool to be around that. And that show, Rosie, it still remains. You must be very proud of the stuff you've done on that show. Yes, I am. I definitely must be. And, you know, the human interest stuff, the things that I think back on. There was a super kid right after 9-11. Gorgeous girl. Horrible childhood. Stellar student. And at the very end, I said, please remember, Kellogg's is going to throw you into any college you get into. So you get into Harvard because Kellogg's will be paying. Tell everyone what your favorite cereal is. And she said, Frosted Flakes.

45:11But Rosie, I don't want to take the money because of all the people in 9-11. I'd like to donate my money to the 9-11 fund. Come on. You could have, I couldn't even speak to get it out to say we'll be back for, I was like, I kept tapping the desk. I was trying like to get out of the generosity of the human spirit, which leaves me weak all the time. I wonder what your Enneagram number is. I don't know, but I know this. I am a triple Aries. Oh, wow, Rosie. Three. And everybody, I had my chart done twice because the woman's face, when she finished, she's like, you're a triple Aries. Like I was a Charles Manson murderer, potentially, you know.

45:55I was like, what does it mean? What does it mean? Well, Dratch was in here, and Dratch is like a Pisces stellium, meaning she's got like more, like eight things in Pisces, whatever. And the woman was like, how are you alive? Yes, exactly. She was so good in Rocky Horror. I was so happy for the Tony nominations. I know. For everyone. I mean, I had such an incredible summer with her, Anna, and Maya all on Broadway at the same time. All on Broadway. Unbelievable. Rocky Horror was so good. And that lead boy, my lord in heaven, Luke something. Luke. Ho, ho, ho. Makes a girl think, you know? Gay girl, too.

46:32I was like, I don't know what your deal is, sir, but come over near me and let me smell you. You know, like I don't want you naked in my bed. I'm not interested in the downtown mechanics, but I would like you to maybe have lunch with me and get me a lemonade. You know, that's how I feel about lesbians. I don't want to kiss them, but I want them to think I'm cool. Well, we do. I went to the last meeting and everybody was like, is Amy Poehler still cool? And everybody said yes. And I often want to be them. You know, like it's like that's very interesting about like sexuality and gender. As you see something and you're like, do I want to kiss them?

47:06Do I want to be them? Yes. Do I want to get their approval? Like it's it's and kind of what we talked about earlier. Now it's so interesting is everything is so much more open. Like we can talk about I mean, like even when you used to talk about loving Tom Cruise. Yes. It's like people would want to make that very binary, right? Like, yes. Well, that means she wants him in bed. I often said, I don't want him in bed. I want him to mow my lawn and bring me a nice tea. Like, that's what I said. And I didn't know how much clearer I could be. So when I finally did come out and people were shocked, I was like, how the hell are you shocked?

47:42And they're like the Tom Cruise thing. I'm like, how much clearer did I have to be? Yeah. There are men that I feel this way. There's a guy in Cats, the Jellicle Ball, Sidney Harcourt. He plays Rum Tum Tugger and he is the sexiest human I've ever seen. and so unbearably talented. And I did the judges thing when I was there once. And he came up and sings to the judges and he put his hand on my face. And I was like a little school girl, like, oh my God, the most handsome boy in the class is looking at me, you know? And I still have those feelings, but it doesn't translate into, I would like to be sexually intimate with you, you know?

48:21It doesn't go there, trust me on that one. Right, I mean, which it proves once again, always, and it is like, you cannot change who you are. You really, there's nothing about sexuality that feels like you can't like think your way into being attracted to somebody differently. Well, can I tell you the story that just happened to me? I'm in LA at the Four Seasons Hotel with Clay and Clay asked for alone time to stim. Her stim is running. So she runs the perimeter of a room and touches the walls as she goes. But they like to do it alone. And at home, we have the space that they can do it alone. So I said, it's the World Cup.

48:56I'll go downstairs. I'll have a beer. I'm going to give you one hour. It's when it's nine o 'clock, I'm coming up. What a beautiful exchange. I just want to pause for a second that your child is able to say, I need this. Express what it is. You're like, okay, this is what you need. There's no shaming involved. No. Also, I have some boundaries too. I got to come back in an hour. We're going to work together. Beautiful. Okay, thank you. And so I get downstairs and there's Margo Martindale sitting at the bar. And I've never met her, but I love her work. And one seat is empty and it's next to her.

49:35So I sit down and I go, Margo Martindale, Rosie O'Donnell, star of the Flintstones. And she's like, Rosie. And I said, Margo. And then she goes, I go, can I buy you a drink? And she slowly looks up and goes, sweetheart, it's not my first one. And I said, can I buy you your fifth one? That'll be it. Yes, you can. There's a guy sitting next to us, a doctor, handsome, built, muscles, about 55, maybe 57. Oh, my God. This is great. Pays our bill. Oh, bless. He should. Straight men should buy all the things. Yes, I agree. Yeah. Paid for everything. Walked Margo to the elevator. Comes back, says, can I talk to you for a minute?

50:16I said, sure. I have to go up and adjust a bit. he said, okay, I really feel like I'm connecting to you tonight. And I was wondering if when you're here doing your Jimmy Kimmel, that we could go out for dinner. And I said, newsflash, big lesbian. I don't know if you heard, but been that way since 1970. And I don't think there's a, well, it doesn't mean that you can't, you know, go out to dinner with someone and who knows, Maybe you'll feel a spark. He's a doctor, by the by. He's a doctor. So the next day, there's flowers. There's flowers for me sent to my room. I'm like, okay. Rosie, this is fascinating.

50:54Okay, so I go, I'm thinking to myself, what's going on here? I get in the plane and the gayest flight attendant in the world comes over to me and starts talking and starts telling me his whole life. He's been with his partner 37 years, but they only just told their families because they were both from religious communities and they lived in the South. And he was my age and he was so funny and so beautiful. And he walked away and I thought, I could never leave my gay family. Like I could never leave the throngs of gay people out in the world of which I am a member and proud to be a member and want to be the person that the gay guys come over and tell me their stories.

51:35And, you know, it was something that I realized no matter how handsome he was and how many flowers he sent. There's no way you're going to make this gay person a straight person. That's right. And the same way that you can't make a straight person a gay person. Now, there is a spectrum. So there's overlap, of course, you know. But I'm one of those, you know, definitely 100 % gay. But that guy was like, but you haven't seen my moods yet. You're not kidding. But, you know, Rosie, you look fantastic. Thank you, Amy. You know, I want to say this. You look fantastic. I've never felt - I know that's not what it's about.

52:10No, no, it is what it's about. I never felt better. And it's sad to me that it took me till I was 64 to get here, but part of it is Manjaro. Yeah. Three years ago, the doctor told me, before it was really in the news that much, we had O-O-O-O-Zempic, but I didn't know that there was Manjaro. So they said, you have diabetes. Can you take a shot? I said, I think so. I don't know. I've never done a shot. Is it insulin? because my uncles and stuff. And they said, no, it's this new drug and it really helps with your blood sugar. Never mentioned weight loss, never said anything because it was my numbers they were trying to get down.

52:45Oh, sure, yeah, right. So I go on this Manjaro and I go to Nobu with my son. He's just gotten engaged at Phantom of the Opera. How perfect for my son, right? I was like, you're getting mommy points and more money in the will for this. And then the weirdest thing, he gets down on one knee before the show starts. And everybody in the audience goes, oh, and they start looking at him. And this woman's voice I hear behind me going, are they the sweetest couple in the world? I turned around. I go, Hillary Clinton, that is my son. And they have a picture on their engagement of Hillary Clinton with them at the Phantom of the Opera.

53:21But I digress. So I take the shot and I go out to Nobu and I can't eat anything. And I think I'm so overwhelmed emotionally by missing my mom and wishing she could have seen and known him and that he got engaged in a brand new start in his life. And I was full of emotion. And so I thought that's what it was. Yeah. Cut to two weeks later, I get on the scale. I call my doctor crying. I must have cancer. I've lost 12 pounds and I haven't done anything. It's been three weeks since I started that medicine. Yeah, because you do get to a certain age where losing weight for no reason is scary. Well, I had never lost weight for no reason.

53:59Even when I tried to lose weight, it was hard for me to lose weight. And I had done all those things. fen-fen and everything. But this drug is going to help so many people if they could only stop being greedy bastards and give it to the people who need it at a price that is affordable for everyone. It's a sin to have science come so far to help cure obesity. You've been so open with your body. And that's not easy, Rosie, because as a woman in the world in general, people want to talk about your body nonstop. Yes. And you've had people talk about your body all the time. Especially that orange one.

54:38Exactly. You've had stuff said about your body that's so fucking horrible and insane. And you also are a woman in the world like we all are, feeling feelings about their body. And we all know it doesn't matter what size you are, you have feelings about your body. Of course. When I look at myself from when I was thinner, and I think at that point, I thought I was fat. I think that it's our duty to help each other, especially women helping other women. All I want to do now is talk to women that are 10 years older than me to say, what are you doing? Like, what are you doing for your body? What are you doing for, what are you taking?

55:15What do you, how do you move? What are your exercises? How do you feel? Like, you know, I'm curious when you're doing your show, I'm like, I wonder what Rosie does. Does she stretch? Does she do weights? What I found is that it's not the physicalness of standing for an hour and a half every night. It's the people waiting to say hello to me. Yes. And I feel very obligated to do it. Even though I'm depleted by the end of the show emotionally, I meet the people that I sort of know or who know people that know me and say they could stay in the seats. Yep. But I can't go out to the crowd for another hour because Clay's at home waiting.

55:52Yeah. with a babysitter and she still sleeps in my bed. They still sleep in my bed. And the doctor said, don't worry when they're ready and they're safe enough, they'll go to their own room, you know, but it's been a long time. A very long time. Don't you feel like that's growth and maturity too, is figuring out the amount of energy you have and people that love you and understand, like, I mean, at a certain point, I mean, you are an extroverted person, present as an extroverted person, you're probably much more introverted than you present. And it's like being an extroverted person, having conversations, very draining, takes a lot out of, especially - And I care.

56:31Yes, exactly. And it breaks my heart. This one guy in the show, his mother died and at her funeral, she wanted to be buried in her Rosie O'Donnell t-shirt and the family was upset. So this young gay boy cut out the label that said the Rosie O'Donnell show, folded it up and put it in his mother's hand in the coffin and said, if anyone touches this, I'm not going to speak to you. And so he fulfilled his promise to his mother by letting her be buried with a Rosie O'Donnell something. And that kind of adulation and very generous giving of love and stories. It, it really, I take it with me. Yeah. And I know if I was able to talk to Barbara Streisand when I was a kid, if there was a chance that she would answer me back on Instagram, I would not have gone to school.

57:28I would have stayed home. I used to write her letters and send it to Columbia Records. So I think I get it so much, but it's hard for me to believe that I am that to them because you always only feel like you. Right. And also just nervous system-wise is sometimes hard to receive. It's a lot to receive. Yes. It's a lot to receive because you don't want to disappoint the person in the moment. Correct. You want to take all their stuff. They're really excited to tell. And you're also a human being with your own stuff and your own. So you have to have a big capacity. It's a lot. Yes, it's a lot. And I feel like recently I'm re-famous.

58:06That's what I feel. I told my kids, well, kids, hold on because mommy's re-famous. I don't know how it happened. I think it's Mango Mussolini. I think it's him who did it. He didn't know. If he knew how much he was helping my career and my life, he would shut up about me because, you know, he's a horrible creature. You know, that story you told about that man, we know because we spoke. we do this thing on the show where we speak to our friends of our guest to talk well behind their back. And we spoke to Cynthia Nixon. And she was the one who told me that story. And she told us that story. Yes.

58:39And she also spoke, I mean, she's so like so many people, Rosie, she feels so seen by you, supported by you. She's an incredible performer and actress and activist and New Yorker. Yes. And what's so great about Cynthia? She is the real deal, period, end of subject. She's one of the best actresses that we have. She stands up for injustice wherever she sees it. She puts her money where her mouth is. She loves her children and her wife, and I admire her greatly. Well, the feeling is mutual. And she talked about, she had a couple of questions for you and they're really fun. They're really fun. Um, one of them is, you know, and it, and it's about, you know, we haven't even, we don't have, we could have talked about all your act.

59:31We haven't even talked about all the stuff that you've done, but one thing that we saw recently that was really exciting to see is in, in just like that, like to see an intimate scene between you and her and you playing a character who was having experience for the first time is very vulnerable. And she was, And her question was like, she was like, you know, what was your bed scene with Cynthia Nixon like? Horrifying to me because I was so nervous. Yeah. And, you know, first of all, I love her. Like, I love her. Yeah. Right. And I have so much respect for her. And she called me and she's like, Ro, you know, Michael Patrick wrote you a scene and it's with me.

1:00:12Will you do? I said, of course, I'll do it with you, you know. and then I read it and I'm like in bed with just the sheets and I'm like oh my god like I only did one sex scene in my life and it was with Julian McMahon from Nip Tuck and he was such a gentleman that I had a tube top on and like little underpants and we're supposed to be naked and he's got a little cock sock and he's like leaning his arms are shaking because he doesn't want to put his body on mine you know yeah and so finally after three takes they said we keep seeing the top the tube top. And I looked at him and he's this gorgeous, God rest his soul, gorgeous Greek statue of a man.

1:00:50He's a Kennedy in my mind. Like he's just so, was just so perfect. And so I pulled down my tube top and I said, Julian, those are my boobs. And he said, nice rack. And I said, really? Yes. I said, oh, okay. And then I like stood up to the crew. No, I didn't. I didn't. But, But so I was nervous with Cynthia. And then Michael said, you know, you guys can be a little bit more. And I'm thinking, I can't really. Also, it's weird to kiss your friend. Yes, exactly. The kissing wasn't hard, but the laying in bed and the wanting us to act like we had just done it. I was like, oh. But, you know, I'm a little immature when it comes to that.

1:01:30I don't even think that's immature. I've talked to a lot of my friends who have to do intimate scenes. And it's a skill. It's a skill. It's a skill. It's a skill. It really is. Okay, her other question, another question is, what does it feel like to be the most eligible lesbian bachelor on the scene? Well, the fact that I never know when anyone is hitting on me makes me not really be able to appreciate it, to tell you the truth. Yeah. But, you know, it's very lovely. I said on an interview I did about that I was looking, you know, I'd like to be in love again. Well, I might as well have taken out an OnlyFans account because all these lesbians are like, I think I'm the one for you.

1:02:09And I'm like, oh my God, oh my God. You know, and when people are asking for autographs, they're looking a little longer. The ones I know are gay. I'm like, oh no, oh no. What am I going to do? You know, I shouldn't have said it, but it's, it is really flattering and really lovely. And, um, you know, it's just so vulnerable and beautiful that you even say, I'm looking for love again. I mean, just even that is like, you have to, we have to open up the channel to that sometimes. Yes. We're not always in the right space for it. And I will say, you know, it's really hard with clay because that's my primary relationship.

1:02:47So I haven't really known how to do both. Yeah. And I also didn't want someone telling me their opinion on how to raise an autistic child, because until you have your own, you don't really know what the topography is like. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Everything is different. And you shared that journey online. It's, you know, I was during COVID, I felt very less alone by listening to you. You know, you did like front facing videos on TikTok about what was going on in your life. You have educated me and a lot of people on what it feels like to be on the journey of figuring out your kid, because everyone has to figure out their kid, Yes.

1:03:29Even if they are neurodivergent or not. Everyone has to be like, what kind of kid do I have? Everyone has to do that journey. And everyone has to let go and kind of at times even grieve for some version of a child they don't have that they thought they were going to have. And then step into the beautifulness of the kid that they have. Everybody has to make that journey. No, I never grieved that. I didn't think, you know, when a lot of my friends would have autistic kids, they were very thrown by it. And I was never thrown by it. And I know like in one case, my publicist who I love, Cindy Berger, she has a son who's neurodivergent and spectrum on the spectrum, Spencer.

1:04:10And when he was a little kid, all he would say is, Rosie O'Donnell lives behind a green gate. Rosie O'Donnell lives behind a green gate. Rosie O'Donnell, how many ceiling fans do you have? So when he would come in, he's like five or six. And Cindy would, I'd see her sit outside going, you don't talk about the ceiling fans. You do not talk about those. like she's talking to somebody about interviewing Mariah Carey, you know, no matter what you do, you don't look at her. You don't, you know. And so he comes in and he's like, hi, Rosie O'Donnell, you live behind a green gate. I go, I'm glad you found the house.

1:04:38Want to go count ceiling fans? And she's like, and I take him and we get, and we watch the garage door open and close. And so I always thought to God, like, I really did say to God, why didn't you give me an autistic kid? I think I would be able to translate and to understand and be like an inter, you know, to help them in a world that wasn't designed for them. That's right. But, you know, when we found out that they have autism, we decided to do a lot of autism-friendly events. And we went to this one mommy and me class. And so she's walking around talking at three years old to everyone. She comes back with holding hands with a boy who was five.

1:05:18And he had Down syndrome. He had autism. And he was non-speaking. Now, he could make sounds. He was verbal. but he could not form words. So she says, mommy, this is my new best friend, Stephen. Stephen, this is my mommy. And Stephen goes, and she looks at him and says, I'm sorry, Stephen, but we don't speak Spanish. And I thought this kid is funny at three years old. You know, she knows how to lay down a joke. Gets the biggest laugh of my show. And I didn't write it. She did. you know. Perfect. How's the dog? Do you guys still have the dog? Oh yes. We took the dog Kuma over to Ireland. Now I will say this, the service dog for autism is really for the whole family.

1:06:04It's not just for the kid. And as Clay has gotten older, she's decided, they've decided they're into cats. Okay. Not so much dogs. Sure. So Kuma is really my emotional support animal. Great. Because when I am upset and things are, you know, he sits right here and his face is right there. And he's like, well, lick my face and like, look at me like, are you OK? I'm like, dude, I'm better. I'm calming down. I'm not, you know, taking all the news off the channels in Ireland. All the American stations has been a big blessing. I want to talk to you briefly about Ireland because, I mean, everybody is really interested in how it's going for you there.

1:06:44and what is it like to be living in another country? What has been the best and hardest part? The best part is that they don't have celebrity culture there. Nobody really cares that you're famous. Now, when people knew that I moved there, people would say, welcome, Rosie. Welcome to Ireland, you belong here. And it's so sweet. And we went out the first week we're there and I don't know anyone, but two cousins up in Northern Ireland, okay? So we're at a beer garden and I'm sitting next to a couple and their little two-year-old baby and husband and wife, lovely people. And Clay starts to play with their baby and they're sitting as close as you and I are, but at a different table.

1:07:23So we spend two and a half hours together. And at the very end, as we're leaving, I said to them, thank you very much. It's been lovely meeting you. And they said, and by the way, Rosie, we're huge fans. And I said, oh really? I thought you'd wait till the end of the dinner to bring that up? Like being funny, right? And she goes, well, surely it's not the most important thing now, is it? I thought a sentence you'd never hear in America. It's not the most important thing about you. And that's what I found out when I was over in Ireland. The hardest part is being away from my kids, my grown kids and from my friends.

1:07:57You know, my friends are really my family and community and, and it's been very difficult. It's lonely sometimes, but I have met two really good friends whose little kids have autism and they're the same age as Clay. and we, you know, socialize together and, you know, that's been really helpful. You know, it's been very beautiful and very, very healing for me. People say they notice a difference and I think I'm just calmer. Yeah. I'm calmer being over there. Yeah. Well, it feels like you're taking care of yourself in the way you would take care of somebody else. For the first time, I think. Yeah.

1:08:32Really, because I usually try to, you know, put on everyone else's mask first. Yeah. Right. I understand that. And you're a fierce advocate for a lot of people, and it's always sometimes hard to turn that around on yourself. Yes, it is. We could have talked forever, Rosie. We could talk forever. We could. We didn't even talk about A League of Their Own. Oh, wow. We didn't even talk about it. How about Penny say to me, Rosie, I want you to lose 20 pounds before principal photography. I'm like, yeah, Penn, I keep it on because it's fun. I keep on the extra 20 or 40 and you don't like it. I'm so shocked, you know, and then she would always say she would always go, OK, I need somebody to go over there, get a five ball, shake it, maybe bend down, come up with a hot dog in your mouth.

1:09:21Who wants to do it? Now, no one else could understand her. So I'm like, I'll do it, Penny. So Rosie again. Why always Rosie? Girls, you don't want me to movie. And they're like, what'd she say? What did she say? But I miss her. She was a riot man. Oh, my God. I got to meet her. She was a riot. We would sometimes go to basketball games together, again, with her very big, big gulp. And she would say at halftime, bro, you want to go shoot some hoops? I go, Penny, this is not a set. This is the NBA. We're not going to shoot. Come on, there's the Bulls. Let's just go shoot a couple. And she did. She went out without me.

1:09:58I was too embarrassed to do it. But she wasn't embarrassed of anything. I mean, people don't understand what Laverne and Shirley meant to women in comedy. They were both, I mean, Cindy Williams also really funny. And they got to be so funny. They were the funny women in their show. Yes, indeed. Like Lucy and Ethel. Exactly. Lucy and Ethel got jokes and Laverne and Shirley got jokes. Yes. And they did so much physical comedy. They were so funny. And the men in that show kind of came and went and rolled their eyes and commented on the, you know, on the funny stuff like the women usually had to do shows.

1:10:35And Laverne surely got all the jokes. They got all the jokes. And the last question I'll ask Rose is what are you watching? I know you're a huge fan of the arts, but you like just like the video we talked about, you love the high low. You love a viral video that you're watching or a TV show. You love beautiful, fine art. You're an artist. you are a true fan all the time. Yes. What do you watch, listen to? What are you into these days right now that's making you laugh, that's keeping you light, that's keeping you connected or like? Well, I loved Lena Dunham's book, Fame Sick, because I had a very similar experience with fame.

1:11:13It's, you know, it's the impending glittering disaster as Boy George wrote in Taboo. You know, it's hard to explain it to people because it's held up as the utopia and it's really not. And it's hard to manage and it affects your life completely and everyone in your life completely. And nobody feels any sympathy about it. No, no. And you can't really complain about it unless you're with other famous people because other people go, well, how dare you? You know, how dare I try to live it? It's not that easy. You become depersonalized. People don't think you're a person anymore. But I'm watching this show on HBO called Half Man.

1:11:47Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. It's the guy who did Baby Reindeer. Yes. Richard Gad. Yes. And he is a genius. He did that one, brought it to Edinburgh and made it into that show. And now he wrote and stars in a very intense psychological drama relationship about two half stepbrothers. Stepbrothers. And it's riveting. Lena Waithe was in here talking about that too. Oh my God. Isn't she fantastic? The coolest. She is the coolest. She's so cool. And I love her clothes too. I saw that. I watch you. I think you're the only podcast I listen to because I'm too old. I don't, I never like. Who has the time? No, but I love, I love this one and I watch it all the time.

1:12:34Thank you for saying that, Rosie. It's the truth. It's the truth. I've learned, I learned a lot by watching you. I learned a lot by watching how you interact with people and the spirit of this show owes a lot to your show. Oh, honey. Thank you so much. And it means a lot to hear you say that. So thank you. Well, no, you're kind and you're loving and you're very interested and curious and not all podcast people are. No. If they don't seem interested, they seem like they're trying to do something for their own career. Not like, Lee, you seem genuinely to care about each guest that you have and it's really beautiful.

1:13:04So thank you. Thank you. And I'm looking forward to seeing you on Kimmel, which is going to be August 17th to the 20th. Can't wait to see you back in TV. I know. Thank God for him. And I'm so happy that he asked me. In this re-famous way, everybody wants to see and hear more from you. Well, thank you very much. Thank you for doing this, Rosie. Amy, it's my true pleasure. Anytime. And when I'm back, when he's, I will, I'll be your person if anyone cancels. Call me up and I'll just show up. Thank you, Rosie O'Donnell. That was such a good conversation. Loved talking to you and could have done it all day.

1:13:39And, you know, Rosie is always supporting stuff that she loves. And anybody who listens to Good Hang knows that I love podcasts. And I wanted to recommend a podcast for this Polar Plunge. It is Dan Taberski's manifesto. It is a show about all different types of manifestos, what they mean, what they're trying to say, good, bad, confusing, how they motivate us, how they keep us frozen, how they move things along. It's so, so well done. It's an audible original. Please and Thanks Productions has made this show along with Dan Taberski, the host, and you can get it in any of your platforms. You can find it anywhere.

1:14:19It's such a good show, Dan Taberski's Manifesto. Check it out. Highly recommend it. Thank you for listening to this podcast. Thank you, Rosie, for joining us. And thanks everybody all the time for everything, everywhere. We'll see you soon. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.