Skip to Content

And you thought it was scary to see Victoria Beckham’s boobs!

Prepare yourself to hear Rosie O’Donnell touch upon her own breast baring experience recently, as well as a number of other topics in an interview with TV Guide.

Rosie at Premiere
(Getty Images for Showtime)

TV Guide: What is it like to be back in the limelight with The View and now on Nip/Tuck?
O’Donnell: It is definitely an adjustment.

TV Guide: How has it been for the kids?
O’Donnell: It is not so much an adjustment for them because they go to a school that does not allow [them to watch] TV. But it was definitely a shift in energy for me once I became available for consumption again.

TV Guide: How’s it going at The View?
O’Donnell: It has been a great few weeks. Everyone was nervous — including me — and wondering how it would be. It is very hard to come into an ensemble in the 10th season. But I think it’s working. I used to be obsessed with who was on my show and what the ratings were, what the competitors were doing. Now I don’t look.

TV Guide: That’s interesting. You don’t feel as competitive?
O’Donnell: No, and I don’t feel that there is anything necessarily to win. I just think it is a great opportunity to have fun and to have a place where you can discuss ideas that matter to people. There are fewer places where you can speak freely. Live TV is [one of] the only places you can say things and not edit yourself.

TV Guide: Not editing yourself is a big deal for you. Is it true your partner, Kelli, said she was afraid you would be overpowering on The View?
O’Donnell: I was told that 68 percent of the people said that they thought I was going to be bossy. And Kelli said, “They’re right.” The reason I do not watch myself on things where I am being myself and not acting is that I find myself annoying. I find my voice grating. I think, “I would not enjoy her if I were a fan.”

TV Guide: On [the Oct. 3] Nip/Tuck you guest-star as an ex—New Yorker who’s living in a Florida trailer park and wins the Powerball. How did the role come about?
O’Donnell: I had never seen Nip/Tuck. But Kelli and I watched the first two seasons on DVD back-to-back in five days. I said, “This is the best show on TV. How come I’ve never heard of it?” So I called my agent and said, “Do you think there is any way they would ever be interested in me?”

 
TV Guide: Nip/Tuck is about the effects of plastic surgery. Have you ever had any plastic surgery?
O’Donnell: I had a mini neck thing done when I was on my show and my son Parker was a baby. They kept saying to me, “What are we going to do about your neck? Or your fat?” But it was a same-day thing, so I don’t know if that is even considered plastic surgery. I do not know if I would do it again, though, because I am not the kind of actress who gets parts based on my physical appearance.

** THG note: Neither is Ashlee Simpson.
TV Guide: Do you identify with Dawn Budge, your character?
O’Donnell: Totally. I said to Ryan, “It is too easy. I do not have to act! And I have to come in and be myself with that gorgeous man? My lord in heaven!”

TV Guide: You mean Julian McMahon?
O’Donnell: He is charisma personified, and he is unbearably sexy. He is McDreamy in every capacity.

TV Guide: In the episode, you and Julian have a sex scene that is absolutely hilarious. Was it fun to film?
O’Donnell: I had on this tube-top-type thing, and these short shorts, and they drape me so I am not embarrassed. And he comes in and all he has on is a sock covering his penis. He is totally naked. And he says, “Are you ready?”

TV Guide: What did you say?!
O’Donnell: [Laughs] I didn’t even remember doing this, but apparently I said, “Oh, my god! You look like Superman.” He looks like he is carved out of stone. We did a couple of takes and my boobs were showing and finally I just said, “Screw it.” And took my shirt off.

TV Guide: Did Kelli get jealous?
O’Donnell: No, she was there, and she loved it!