'The View': Rosie O'Donnell Reacts to Meghan McCain's Kathy Griffin Rant

Rosie O'Donnell is speaking out after Meghan McCain launched an attack on Kathy Griffin. McCain's [...]

By Allison Schonter

Rosie O'Donnell is speaking out after Meghan McCain launched an attack on Kathy Griffin. McCain's comments, which made clear she was not a fan of the comedian, were made during Monday's episode of The View and immediately sparked backlash online, as the remarks came just hours after Griffin revealed she'd recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and was set to undergo surgery that same day.

O'Donnell, who was a co-host of the daytime talk show from 2006 to 2007 and 2014 to 2015, responded to McCain's controversial remarks on Monday shortly after the segment aired. Taking to Twitter, O'Donnell retweeted a now-viral video of McCain demanding an apology from Griffin over past remarks she made about Clay Aiken and declaring, "I don't like her. I'm never going to like her." O'Donnell didn't hold back with her criticism, candidly asking, "what's wrong with u mm [Meghan McCain]?" She, like many others, pointed out that McCain's criticism seemed ill-timed given that Griffin "just announced she has lung cancer."

After beginning a segment on Griffin's cancer diagnosis on Monday's episode of The View by stating that her "heart goes out" to Griffin and she wishes her "a very speedy recovery," McCain immediately launched into a minutes-long rant about Griffin. She said her "issue" with Griffin is that she "made very, very, very cruel and homophobic jokes" about Aiken before he came out as gay in 2008. While McCain said Aiken "is a very strong person, and has a very strong constitution," she added that Aiken was "lucky he didn't end up becoming an opioid addict" because of the bullying he faced, which she said Griffin led. After demanding an apology from Griffin and stating, "I don't like her, I'm never gonna like her for all the jokes she made about Clay," McCain also criticized Griffin for her controversial severed head Donald Trump photo. She said she doesn't like to "see severed heads of anyone, any place, because it reminds me of what ISIS does to our soldiers."

McCain's comments sparked a defense of Griffin from her The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who acknowledged that the comedian's Trump photo was "a really bad misstep." However, Goldberg said that "comics make missteps, it happens… I love Kathy Giffin as a person." McCain's remarks also prompted a strong response from viewers, many of whom criticized the talk show host for attacking Griffin on the very same day she revealed her cancer diagnosis.

McCain, who will exit The View following the show's Friday, Aug. 6 episode, has not responded to O'Donnell or the backlash to her comments. Griffin, meanwhile, is recovering after she underwent surgery on Monday to remove a portion of her left lung. A representative for the comedian said the surgery "went well and as planned."

0comments
Start the Conversation

of