Good Hang with Amy Poehler - Rosie O'Donnell

Episode Date: August 11, 2026

Rosie O'Donnell is re-famous. Amy hangs with the actress and talk show host and talks about her one woman show 'Common Knowledge,' what she bought after winning 'Star Search,' and being the most eligible lesbian bachelor on the scene.  Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Cynthia Nixon and Rosie O'DonnellExecutive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Aleya Zenieris, and Nick Kosut; lighting director Caroline Jannace; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and bookers Kat Spillane and Paige GarbariniOriginal Music: Amy Miles Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at paypal.com/backtoschool2026 Switch today at https://www.Visible.com for just 25/mo. Or get premium Visible+ pro plan and save $10 on your first month with code HANG.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Boy, we have a great guest today. Rosie O'Donnell. Rosie is here. And we are going to have such a great conversation. We always do when we talk to Rosie. We're going to talk about so many good things. We're going to talk about her getting discovered and being on Star Search. We're going to talk about her incredible one-woman show and how it felt to do it and what it brought up for her. We're going to talk about the idea of standing up for people, standing up for people, standing up for, for yourself and sometimes how expensive that can be. And we're going to talk about her filling in and hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live next week and how excited she is for that. There's so many good things happening right now. As Rosie says, she is re-famous. So we're going to get into that today. But before we do, we're going to talk to somebody who knows our guest, who wants to speak well behind their back. And we have a great, great person joining us today. Cynthia Nixon, actress, activist. Cynthia, look, you know Cynthia, okay? Gilded Age, Sex in the City, the show, and Just Like That.

Also, in so many incredible Broadway shows, Cynthia's a giant, and she's going to chat with us today and give us a question. Hi, Cynthia. This episode is brought to you by PayPal. Schools back soon, and so is that shopping list. You know the one. New backpack, new notebooks, new water bottle, new pens. with the PayPal app, you can save offers from hundreds of brands and have them applied automatically at checkout.

And if you want flexibility, you can pay now or pay later at millions of stores. Download the PayPal app to get started. Terms and exclusions apply. See PayPal.com slash rewards terms. I'm falling down. There we go. Oh, right. I got a lot of head room, don't I? It's kind of nice books in the back. Okay. It looks smart. Maybe I'll sit on a pillow. Maybe that'll help me like I used to do with the barber when I was a little girl. Yeah, I still sometimes have to put a little pad or pillow in when I'm driving a vehicle. You do.

Sometimes. I love it. A little booster. Thank you so much for getting on and for talking about Rosie. It's my pleasure. It's my pleasure. One of my favorite top, most favorite topics, Rosie O'Donnell. Now, you guys have been friends for a long time.

We have been friends for a long time. we have been friends from early Sex and the City days when Kristen Davis and I were at the Joni Mitchell concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34th. And Rosie and her wife were seated in front of us and Rosie turned around. And she was like, oh, look, it's the Sex and the City girl. When we talk today, I mean, one of the things that is so disarming

and charming about Rosie is she has, she has really always been herself in real time in front of us. She has allowed us to see her, you know, her real self all the time. She's very authentically herself. Of the many like, you know, parasy social relationships that we all have with people we think we know, Rosie is definitely somebody. We really do know Rosie. We really do know her. And she's, and I think she just came out of the womb that way. I really, you know, my favorite Rosie story that I tell at the drop of a hat is when she was three years old and her family moved and it was chaos and they moved to a little cul-de-sac and nobody was paying attention, you know, whatever. And she walked out of her door and she went right across

to the very next house. It wasn't like traffic. It was a cul-de-sac, you know. And she rang the doorbell and the woman of the house, you know, answered the door and looked down and there was little Rosie O'Donnell who said to her, I'm three. You got anyone in there who's three? You got anyone in there who's three. And the woman's like, as a matter of fact, I do. And I think that woman is, you know, that little girl that she that came, then came to the door to play, was, you know, still Rosie's like best friend. Really? Yeah. Wow. That's an amazing story. I'm three. You got anyone in there who's three? I'm going to talk to her about a lot of things today, including her show, her new show, which you just saw. She's, she's performing a one woman show. We actually, we saw it in

Ireland. We were in Ireland and we went to see her there and then we saw it again. And it's, of course, it's, it's different and there's different parts left out and there's different parts added and it's more polished. But it's so much the same show. It's so, it's so delicious. You know, and I said to her, it's like an hour and 15 minutes or something, hour and half, whatever it is. And I was like, I wanted it to be four hours. I just didn't want it to end. I didn't want the, I didn't want the stories to end. And I didn't want the, the time, you know, spent with you to end in that way. That's a great review that somebody wants it to be longer.

Now, anything you think I should ask Rosie today? We're asking our guests like, you know, any question, big, small, important, silly, anything. Right. So I tried to think of this. It's very hard to think of it. But I thought of three. And I'm sorry I didn't think of one. No, that's great.

I thought, you know, how does she feel now and how is she? dealing with the fact that she is arguably, you know, the most eligible lesbian bachelor on the scene at the moment? How is she dealing with all the people trying to fix her up and the people trying to fix her up with themselves, you know? Another question, which is more of a me question, is like, you know, all of us Sex and the City girls, we did so many sex scenes often with, you know, quite a lot of clothes off and that kind of thing. But, you know, Rosie and I, I had a bed scene, not exactly a sex scene, but a post-coital scene. And what was that like for her? You know what I mean? What was it like for her? What was it like for you?

I mean, it was a little strange, but it was so lovely because the part that she played opposite me on and just like that, who was this nun who was having her first sexual experience with anybody, you know, she's so funny, Rosie, but she didn't play it for laughs. She played it with such tenderness and hope and excitement. And it just, of course, it made it even more funny. Yeah, yeah. But I guess the question that I really want to ask her is, you know, kind of what you were saying, she is so important to so many people.

And we were out the other night and I'll tell this story very briefly, but it's a much longer story about my friend whose mom died and she wanted to be buried in her Rosie O'Donnell sweatshirt. And he didn't think that was really appropriate. He thought she had to wear something a little more, you know, dressed up. But he took the, he cut out the rosy on her rosyodontal sweatshirt. And he went the morning of the open casket funeral. And his mom had a rosary in her hands.

And my friend pried his mom's hands apart and took the rosary out and put it by her side and put in this rolled up little thing of Rosie's name from her sweatshirt and so that she was holding onto it. And my friend told Rosie this story, and of course, Rosie was very touched. But Rosie was not thrown. Do you know what I mean? I feel like the amount of people for whom she looms this large in life and death and at the moments and like wanting her to be there with you, why does she think she was put on the earth? Like, what is this quality that she has,

that she is so deeply important to people? And, you know, of course, there are people who revile her for whom she is important as their enemy. But like, you know, what did God or the universe or, you know, put her on earth to do? Because, boy, she has so much impact on people. That is so beautifully said.

She definitely is a person that creates a big feelings in people and then being her friend, I'm sure you've seen people bring those big feelings to her. Like, what do you do with all of those big feelings? Like, you're only one person, and I'm sure there's days where you can absorb it and you can synthesize it and other days where you have to just kind of like leave it at the door. But also, what is there about herself that brings that out of people, you know? And it's going to be interesting to see if Rosie has an answer to it because I totally agree. she invokes and evokes all this really interesting stuff in people. And that's a beautiful story, too.

What a beautiful story. Yeah, I know. Isn't it unbelievable? Yeah. Yeah. And it's much longer and more complicated, but that's the gist. Yeah, yeah. Well, I thank you.

These are great questions. Okay. These are perfect. Cynthia, perfect. Thank you. This is a perfect little amuse-bouche before we get into the Rosie meal. And I know she will be thrilled that we talk. and as am I. So I really appreciate your time. Well, have a great time asking Rosie all the questions

that everybody wants to ask her. Thanks. Thank you so much. Bye. Take care. This episode is brought to you by Visible. Why does it feel like summer ends as soon as it begins? One day the sun is finally shining bright and the next thing you know, there's football on TV again. It's time to soak up the last dog days of summer and that means staying connected to what you love. Visible wireless can help you do just that. With Visible, you get unlimited 5G data and unlimited hotspot powered by Verizon for just $25 a month. So you can give yourself a treat before the summer ends. Visible is more than just a wireless plan.

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I'm really good. It's really good to see you. Can I just say that you were one of the kindest people to Clay? When you took us to see the screening of Inside Out to one of their favorite movies, and she still talks about it. They were so sweet that day, and you and I think were crying together that day because that movie is, I mean, all of Pixar movies are a walker, but that one is... No, inside out is something else. It's like every adult should watch it like five times a day just to remember what it's like to be a kid and what it feels like. What's it's like to be a human person.

Yeah, you captured it. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Rosie, thanks for saying that. I've been so excited about you coming in today. I love talking to you. I've gotten a privilege of getting to know you a little bit over the years and talk to you. And I was just kind of thinking about what we were going to talk about today. And I just feel like to kind of sum up the work you always do is about making people feel less alone, basically. Isn't that the truth? That's what I think being alive is all about. Yeah.

Right? Tell your truth. Let everyone hear it. Yeah. And it'll help people. Yeah. It doesn't help when people keep secrets. It doesn't help.

You know, some people say, oh, you tell too much. And I'm like, I suppose for some people it would be too much. But for me, you know, coming from a childhood that had a lot of secrets and a lot of stuff going down that, you know, wasn't kosher, I like to be able to go, well, this is what's happening. And this is what, so I always tell the truth. Sometimes it gets me in trouble. Like they asked me on one show, they said, who are your guests on Kimmel? I start naming them. I see the publicist like pulling your hair out in the other room.

don't say it. You know, I'm like, okay, okay. I don't know the rules. I'm sorry. What is it like being in, you've done so many interviews you've been on this side. What did you learn as, as an interviewer that now you remember when you're being interviewed? I don't really look at it that way. I look at it just like listening. Yeah. Is the bottom line to acting, to hosting, to interviewing. That's true. Listen. And the ones that allow people to complete their sentence and they're not looking at the notes for what's the next one, where's the next place. You know, when I did the Tonight Show with Leno, okay, so you be me and I'll be Leno, okay?

Yeah. So he'd go, you see him looking down and then they come back. He's like, oh, so Rosie O'Donnell. So listen, I just wanted to tell you, you're really good at, you know, doing this movie pod. And then you'd see him look at the camera over here. And when the single was on me, he'd be looking down at the note for the next, he didn't. even make eye contact. Have you ever acted with someone like that? I've acted with people who shall remain nameless. Exactly. Right. Who when it is not their coverage, they are literally not

looking at you. I know. And it's, it's really shocking. It actually makes you feel very lonely. Yes. And I've had, you know, there's one who I'll tell you when we're done that was so selfish. Yeah. That I was like, this is not the spirit of acting in an ensemble. This is not the spirit. It's almost like when you're in a great improv group. Totally. You never say no in the scene. You have to keep the scene going. Or, I mean, this has happened too in projects where you, you know, especially in comedy,

where you try something or say something and then someone else just takes it. Yes. That's happened to me too. And I've been, and it's, you know, bad behavior, I know you're this way too. I think what, like, bad behavior and conflict in general is something, at least, I feel from you, Rosie, like you don't shy away from it. You're not afraid of it, but I feel like you also are a little constantly shocked by it, bad behavior. I am. Me too. I'm stunned by it. It stuns me. Yeah. In real time. It stuns me too. Not only in acting, but in politics.

I go, is everyone looking at the same speech he just gave? Yes. Did we hear what he just said? That's right. He is asleep again, ladies and gentlemen. Right. Like, what is it? going to take. Right. And the looking around and the, almost the gaslighting that it's afterwards is so stressful to me. How about Rubio's saying, I've never seen him fall asleep? I'm like, oh, dear God in heaven, it's beyond willful blindness. It's really like cult programming. And that kind of stress when someone's behaving badly, whether it's on set, whether it's, if you're running the country, whether it's like you're ordering coffee and nobody says anything is excruciating to me. And I think it is to you too.

It is to me. Even with, you know, the political stuff, people say, why do you do it? I do it because I feel like I owe something to this country because of my life and career that I started out on Long Island with a dead mother and a father who was compromised in many ways and that I, you know, overweight, gay, became whatever this thing is that I became and lived this life of gross excess because of it, you know? And I don't feel like shutting up now when we're on the precipice of disaster is the way to say thank you to a country and a nation that provided me with an unbelievable life.

So I feel morally obligated. And do you feel, Rosie, like that feeling of being that kid, that person that like has to point out and speak out, just you were born with it? Well, the stories that my parents used to tell me was that I always went to the adults. I always wanted to entertain the adults and to have conversations with the adults. You're a middle child. I'm the middle. I'm the oldest girl. I'm named after my mother. And interestingly enough, I was always a highly sensitive person to the point that it's almost stabilitating. And when I was little, I would get in trouble for watching the news because Saigon was being

evacuated. My mother had just died, and there was a push-up stairway for the last planes out, and it was all live on TV. And there was a young teenage boy who kicked a woman. Now, they were all trying to survive. Yeah. Right? It was horrible. Yeah. She fell off of the stairway and out of frame because the frame was locked. And we never found out what happened. I start sobbing. And my father was so mad and so overwhelmed that I would be crying, that he would be crying, that he said you're not allowed to watch the news anymore. You're not allowed. Go to your room. And so I think I was too much. But it's really interesting, Rosie, because you're a combo of a highly sensitive person and you're also tough? Well, you know what, Amy? I'm not that tough. You're not

that tough. No. I cry a lot. Yeah. If someone else is crying, I start to cry. Right. I have to have a shield up. And that is definitely armor. But when people get to know me, they often say, God, you're nothing like I thought Rosie O'Donnell was going to be. And I'm like, you know, in good ways and bad ways, when I would start to date people, you know. They expected me to be like, hey, here I am, Katie Lang in the bedroom, let's go.

You know, and I'm like, do you want to cuddle? Could we watch something on TV? Yes, yes. I never know if someone's hitting on me. I never have a clue. Unless you have a neon sign that says, I'm hitting on you, I would like to date you. I am clueless to it. Well, Rosie, do you think that you are, because you've talked really openly about Clay,

do you think you're neurodivergent? You know, when I was first on my show, Bill Gates was doing a large study in the 90s at the University of Seattle about autism. This is back when there wasn't all that much research going on. And they would call every few months the first year and say, we really would like to test you because of my ability to recite lyrics and to like, you know, the primatine mist commercial. Most people don't know that because there's no song. And it was on in the 60s and 70s and in the lungs,

primatine helps open clog breathing tubes, relaxes bronchial spasm, restores free breathing as fast as 15 seconds. Primatine mist or to help keep breathing freely for hours, primatee tablets, the one most widely prescribed by doctors. There's no reason, Amy, that I have that stuck in my head. You have a really interesting way to sorting information and sorting emotional information. Correct. And I think that, that, you know, my autistic child has taught me patience and introspection, you know,

to be more introspective about my own stuff going on. Totally. I think it's one of the beautiful things about that community in general and just the idea of a spectrum in general, is that in the same way, like, gender and sexuality for my generation, like, I feel like, like your generation was about there are different ways, there are different ways to express your sexuality and to who you love. I feel like my gen was like,

you can have a family however you want. And then the gen, like, millennials are like, gender is a construct that we're all trying, like everyone is like breaking apart all these things we think are very true. It's so true. And my daughter who's 23, she was showing me pictures of this party

that they had at their college, you know, with eight girls. one house in a college. And I saw two of the girls kissing. And I'm like, oh, my God, I didn't know they were gay. She's like, Mom, they're not gay. They were just kissing at a party.

I'm like, that doesn't make you gay anymore? What makes you gay then? We don't know. We don't know. But yeah, it was, you know, and when I started, I didn't think there was any way in the world that you could be an out lesbian person and be successful in show business. That's right. Because Ellen wasn't out.

Yep. Will and Grace wasn't on. I remember on my show, they said, going to be a show where it's a gay guy and his female best friend. And I said that'll last three weeks, just like Love Sydney. Yeah, do you don't, do you remember that? You do. Yes. Tony Randall. Tony Randall had a lover and they never said it was his lover, but there was a picture of him above the fireplace. And sometimes he would look lovingly and sadly at the loss. And the story in the show was that he was gay bashed. It was a hate crime that took his life. And I remember being in church

and hearing the priests talk about how horrible the show was and how, you know, and then they ripped it off the air. It was off the air and it was, you know, a wonderful show. Yeah. And I thought, wow, you can't tell anyone. But I lived a life where everyone knew. Right. Because I had kids.

And, you know, I had kid when I was 33. From that moment on, I was out because you'd go to the doctor with your partner. You would, you know, and I would always go to the Emmys with Kelly. Now, Lois Smith, my wonderful. I know. you said she used to walk in between the two of you. And Janola, did you remember what she looked like? She looked just like my nana. She was tall and stately and she always wore a bright red coat and she had been Marilyn Monroe's publicist during the Joe DiMaggio years. You know, when I went and my show was

starting and I got a publicist in New York, I went to meet her. And I said, listen, I'm gay. And I don't imagine ever saying it because I'd rather fight for kids who are abused who don't have a voice than fight for adults who, you know, and that was my rationale at the time. And she was very grateful that I told her. But then proceeded to say to Kelly all the time, get on the other side, get on the other side. Because she didn't want anyone to know. I don't think people realize, like, you know,

people are young people that I talked to are surprised that, you know, I didn't have any openly gay people in my high school. No gay and lesbian alliance. No openly gay teachers. No one was. openly gay. And if they were, like the art teacher, this beautiful man who was a teacher and I used to call him dad, and he was so lovely and so great and so gay, so flamboyant. And the gym teacher who years later in Vegas, I was at a lesbian bar and who's there? I was like, give me a high five, Nance, went together in a lesbian bar like I dreamed when I was in ninth grade, you know? Yes. I mean, Paula Pell, you know, Paula Pell? I love her. Yes. She was on here talking about that. And one of the things that was, that really moved me that I didn't think about as a straight person is that because at the time

she had to be closeted, relationships ended like they did for everybody else, and no one got to grieve publicly. You had to be crying in your room that you and your best friend weren't hanging out anymore. Well, the thing that got me the most, because I was with a woman who has recently passed away, her name was Corby. She was a bunch of years older than me, probably like 10 or 12 years older than me. And I was, it was one of my first relationships. And I was with her for seven years. And when we broke up, the pain of it was so intense. And I couldn't even tell my family. Yeah. My family didn't want to hear about it. Even though they knew I was living with her and they knew that now I wasn't, no one brought it up. Nobody said, are you okay? And that is very,

very isolating and lonely. Yeah. And it makes you feel that you're sort of doomed by being gay. which is no different than being left-handed or having blue eyes. Like people don't choose it. Who would choose it? It's not an easy life, but it's a true life if you know that that's who you are, you know? Yeah. Well, you talk about this idea of truth, which really matters to you. I love when, you know, you've talked about how Clay and your relationship has like kind of

drawn you closer to that, keeps drawing you closer to that. Yes. And you just finished an incredible run of your show, Common Knowledge. Can you tell us where the title Common Knowledge comes from? Yes. This is a true story. So she, they, they, and it's a they, them. That's the pronouns that they choose, but it's very hard, honey.

I know. And I love that you're constantly correcting in real time like we all do. It's really beautiful. And it really matters to them. Yeah. And I know it matters to them. Yeah. And so when I would, they first told me that it was they, them, I tried my best, but I kept saying

she. Yeah. And so they wrote on a cardboard paper, they. And then they would hold it up above their head every time I said she, like John Cusack and say anything with the boombox, just staring at me, you know. And so I took her to my cousin's tattoo shop with the they in her handwriting. And I had it tattooed on my wrist so that I would never. forget that it would remind me.

And I thought she'd be very touched and she didn't give two shits. She could not care less. And I just said she, I just did it again. In the they story, I messed it up. But yeah, but the common knowledge comes from we were watching Jeopardy, which I no longer do with her because it was really hard

on my ego. And, you know, I had won Celebrity Jeopardy once against Ed Begley Jr. and Robert Guillaume. So it was Benson and the very smart Ed Begley Jr. Those are smart people. Little bit younger than them. So they couldn't really work the button

because you can't buzz in until the light goes on. You are the second celebrity Jeopardy winner I've had here. Ike Barronholz won and it's all about the button. It's about the buzzer. And knowing the answers. And knowing the answers. But I always pride myself. I used to watch it every day.

So she's about eight when this happens. And I believe Alex Trebek was still alive. And in my mind, it was Alex Trebek who said, and the answer is the deepest point ever recorded on Earth. And they look up from their iPad and go, what is the Marianna Trench? And I'm like, what is the Marianna 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, 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. Common knowledge. I was like, what the hell? And I asked her, 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 time.

I'm like, way to go. Way to go, kiddo. And so this title for this show, your one-woman show. Yes. 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 manage your, because I'm always trying to figure out how people are managing their energy?

Well, I will tell you that when, you know, we did this sort of as a proof of concept because I had done it in Europe. Yeah. And it really is a love letter to Ireland and to Clay. 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. Wow. 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.

They'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. Yeah. 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, okay, 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. Visit BetMGM Casino and check out the newest exclusive. The Price is Right Fortune Pick.

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Yes. First time. Yes, first time in a plane. And Dunigall? Duny goal, yes. Then, you know, I would imagine that would be associated with a lot of trauma. But did you find 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. I still have cousins there. And so when my father took us there, I didn't understand why he did. It was the height of the troubles. It was 1973. There was tremendous unrest. And Duny Gull 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, you know, 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. You carry on. You don't. 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. Sorry, but 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, funny always, popular. Yes. Homecoming Queen and Class Clown. That doesn't happen a lot. I 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 you crushed it. I crushed it in high school. 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. It's like, Miss Barron, more on that story as it develops. you know, because, and I just put everything about someone in the school. Yes. And they were like, oh, this. 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 stand-up comedian. And I just opened a

comedy club in Huntington. And I'd like you to come down and do stand-up comedy. I said, no, no, I'm going to be on Broadway. I want to be a Bet Midler backup. singer, one of the harlets, I want to be in a chorus line. Now, 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. 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. And 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 Minnaveni 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, and in the 80s was like pretty huge star. And she got me paid $25 a show, which when you're 16 years old is like a million dollars. Sure. 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, 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 like when, when Claudia McMahon came over to me in that same club that Richie Minnavene 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 co- was like 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. Huge. 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. 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, stick around at the sunset, high it on sunset. I had no money. I walked every day to Carnies, the hot dog stand. And for like $3, I got a small Coke and a hot dog. And that's what I lived on. By the fifth or sixth episode, I was the thinest I'd ever been.

I'm like, this is how you lose weight, apparently. But I won like $20-something,000, 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 to the guy says to me Do you want the undercoding? I said, I don't know. Do you think I need it? In L.A. You don't need the undercoating. There's no snow.

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. But Rosie, I'm going to say, yes, luck, of course.

But also, you had something, you had a real drive. You've got a desire to be heard, obviously, seeing you wanted to perform, you felt it, you went, you took big risks, big swings. Like, people can say come, come to the comedy club, but you have to go. You have to write your act. You have to think about it. You have to, there was something really indomitable about your spirit, especially as a young person where you were like, I got to 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 on to the stage, not only do I do his act. I do his cadence and his delivery. I'm like, I'm driving here in my car stalls. 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. They're like, where'd you get that joke? I said, Jerry Seinman, 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? They 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 MC to get material and to learn to talk about your own family. And that's how I did it. Wow. I mean, you talked about doing Gilda. Did you ever meet Gilda or any of those? Once.

You did. I would have loved to have better. She was doing one woman's show, Gilda Live, in D.C. 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. You know, so you'd be doing your act and you'd hear, we have a pick up on three.

Pick up on three. It's a cheeseburger. It's getting called. Vinnie, 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, Impressario.

That's what his card said. Impressario 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 at the back door. And I said, excuse me, excuse me, Gilda. And 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. Yeah. But she, you know, I used to do her because my name is Roseanne.

Right. And, you know, Rosanna, Rosanna, down. You ever know what 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. It was kind of like that was how you told people you were into comedy was by memorizing S&L. 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 guest when you hosted 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. Will you do it with me? And I said, okay. 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.

Great. 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. 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. Without a doubt. Yes. And, you know, you were hosting, you hosted before I got to Estenol, but you were. were doing your show at the same time, we were in the same building at the same time when you

were doing the, the Rosio Adama show was, it was studio. 8H. Yeah. Well, we were 8. Oh, no. I was A. A.G. A.

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. And the rare nights that, you know. we'd be there all night working, your crew would be coming in. It 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.

You really 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. But 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 aneogram 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. I was like, what does it mean? What does it mean?

Well, Dratch was in here, and Dratch is like a Pisces Stelium, meaning she's got like more like eight things in Pisces, whatever. And the one was like, how are you alive? Yes, exactly. She was so good in Rocky Horror. I was so happy for the Tony nominations for everyone. I mean, I had such an incredible summer where both her, with her, Anna, and 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. Ho, ho, ho, ho, makes a girl think, you know, gay girl too.

It 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. Well, 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 Polar 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? Do 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, Cruz. Yes. It was like, people would want to make that very binary, right? Like, why? Well, that means she wants them in bed. I often said, I don't want them in bed. I want them to mow my lawn and bring me an ice 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? And 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 Rumtum 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. It doesn't go there. Trust me on that one. I mean, which it proves once again always that 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. Can I tell you this story that just happened to me? I'm in LA at the four seasons hotel with Clay and Clay asked for alone time to stem. Her stem is running. So she runs the perimeter of the 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. I'll go downstairs. I'll have a beer.

I'm going to give you one hour. 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 Margotneux, 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. So I sit down, and I go, Margo Martindale, Rosie O'Donnell star 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. Paid for everything, walked Margo to the elevator, comes back, says, can I talk to you for a minute? I said, sure, I have to go up. and just 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 box. He's a doctor. So the next. So the next day there's flowers. There's flowers for me sent to my room. I'm like, Rosie, this is fascinating. Okay. 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. And, 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 the 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. what it's about. No, no, it is what it's about. I never, 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, oh, oh, Zampic, but I didn't know that there was so. 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. Oh, 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. 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. But 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. 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. Even when I tried to lose weight, it was hard for me to lose weight. And I had done all those things, fend, fend and everything. But this drug is going to be. 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. Exactly. You've had stuff set 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. I want to do now is talk to women that are 10 years older to me to say, what are you doing? Like, what are you doing for your body? What are you doing for, what are you taking? What 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. But I can't go out to the crowd for another hour because Clay's at home waiting 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. But 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. It takes a lot out of, especially. And I care. Yes, exactly. And it breaks my heart. This one guy in the show, his mother does. 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 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. I 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 not 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. It's a lot to receive because you don't want to disappoint the person in the moment. You want to take all their stuff. They're really excited to tell you. 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. That'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 in 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.

Oh. And she was the one who told me that story. And she told us that story. Yes. And 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 questions for you and they're really fun. Okay. They're really fun. One of them is, you know, and it's about, you know, we haven't even, we don't have, we could have talk about all your act. we 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 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 and 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, I would be nervous too. First of all, I love her. Like, I love her.

Yeah. Right. And have so much respect for her. And she called me and she's like, Roe, you know, Michael Patrick wrote you a scene. And it's with me. Will 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. 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. He's a Kennedy in my mind. Like he 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. He said, and I said, really? And I said, oh, great. And then I, like, stood up to the crew.

No, I didn't, I didn't. 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 friends. 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, I'm a little immature. when it comes to that. I 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. Yeah, it's a skill. It's a skill.

It's a skill. It's a learning skill. Okay, her other question, one or 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. 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 only fan's account because all these lesbians are like, I think I'm the one for you. And 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 is really flattering and really lovely. And, you know, I love. Rosie, 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 for a million reasons.

And I will say, you know, it's really hard with Clay because that's my primary relationship. So 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. 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. Even if they are neurodivergent or not. Everyone has to be like, who, what kind of kid do I have? Everyone has to do that journey. Exactly. And you, 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. And when he was a little kid, all he would say is Rosie O'Donnell lives behind a green gate. Rosie O'Donnell, how many ceiling fans do you have? So when she, he would come in, he's like five or six. And Cindy would, I'd see her 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. Want to go count ceiling fans? And she's like, and I take him and we can't, 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. And 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, Awa Zawa, Zawa, Fla, Ovo. 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 in 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. It's not just for the kid. Yeah. 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. Yeah. And his face is right there. And he's like, well, lick my face and like, look at me like, are you okay? 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. Yes. 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. And what is it like to be in 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. So 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? You 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. You know, my friends are really my family and community. 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, socialized 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. Really?

Because I usually try to, you know, put on everyone else's mask first. Yeah. Right. Yeah. 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 have, we could talk 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. Penny. 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, okay, I need somebody to go over there, get a five bullshit, get it, maybe. bend down, come up with a hot dog in your mouth, who 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 be in a 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, whoa, do 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 balls. Let's just go shoot a couple. And she did. She went out without me.

I 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 Leverne and Shirley got jokes. 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 funny stuff. Like the women usually had to do in shows. And Laverne and Shirley got all the jokes.

They got all the jokes. And the last question I'll ask Rose is, what are you want? I know you're a huge fan of the arts, but just like the video we talked about, you love the high. You love a viral video that you're watching or a TV show. You love beautiful, fine art. You're an artist. You, 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. It's, you know, it's the impending glittering disaster as Boy George Rove.

and 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. Like people don't think you're a person anymore. But I'm watching this show on HBO called Half-H- man. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. It's the guy who did baby reindeer. Yes. Richard Gadd. 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 Waith 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 this one and I watch it all the time.

Thank you for saying that, Rosie. It's the truth. It's the truth. 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. 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 podcasts people are. No. They don't seem interested. They seem like they're trying to do something for their own career, not like you seem genuinely to care about each guest that you have. And it's really beautiful. So thank you. Thank you.

And I'm looking forward to seeing you on Kimmel, which is going to be next. 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.

And, 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 Tiberski'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.

It'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 polar. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Katz-Villain, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Zanaris. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles. Real Canadian Superstore has everything you need this back-to-school season. Save on lunchbox savers, like Ziggy's sliced deli-me products for always $3.75. And get Life Brand Pure Vita shampoo or conditioner for $8 each. At Real Canadian Superstore, when you're ready, we're ready.

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