[i][b]Rosie Calls it Quits[/b]
A little after noon Wednesday Rosie O'Donnell put her magazine out of its misery. She folded Rosie which used to be called McCall's, telling publisher Gruner + Jahr in effect that they didn't have the right to publish under their co-venture agreement unless she had editorial control.
It was a bold move and a brave move as far as I'm concerned. McCall's was a failing publication when Rosie took it over. The publisher knew the downside of working with her: She was an outspoken [b]BEASTLY LOOKING[/b] lesbian who was going to retire from television. Knowing that, G+J went ahead and started Rosie. They knew what they were getting into. And they should have known that Rosie wasn't going to take any nonsense from them.
In the Villard Room of the Palace Hotel, Rosie spoke eloquently and succinctly to a large group of journalists who'd been pulled together literally at the last minute. Outside of this column, only the Wall Street Journal online and Adweek.com wrote advance stories that O'Donnell was ending the tug-of-war between the two sides.
Rosie looked unusually glamorous today. Her short hair cut was done beautifully, her makeup was very becoming, and she wore a tailored suit. It's obvious that she's been on a successful diet of some kind. She held her head high through the whole proceeding, with former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, now O'Donnell's lawyer, sitting beside her.
[b](hmm... wonder why Slick Willie was never really investigated over "PardonGate" ?)[/b]
She worked hard to read a prepared statement without editorial comment or inflection. A couple of times she looked as though she might crack wise, but legal sense prevailed.
"My integrity and my name are at stake, and that price is too high," she said. "I cannot have my name on a magazine if I cannot be assured that it will represent my vision and my ideas."
In closing Rosie, O'Donnell has not left the magazine's staff high and dry. Unlike many magazine publishers who've closed their doors, Rosie wrote to every staff member individually. She also sent them checks -- some as high as $10,000 -- to compensate them until they find new work.
O'Donnell did not take reporters' questions, but she did confirm a report from this column several weeks ago that she's producing Boy George's musical on Broadway. She also said she'd seen Hairspray five times, that she's happy spending time with her family, and that she and her partner are expecting their fourth child in December.
[b]She did not refute tabloid reports of a sex change[/b], but I don't think that was necessary. O'Donnell handled herself like a great lady today. Let's hope G+J can be men about it, and let this terrible mistake go. McCall's is not a magazine anyone is pining for nostalgically. Bringing it back now doesn't make much sense. They've blown their chance for a real place on newsstands. Now let it be.
[/i]