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January 15, 2015

Today, Nicolle and Rosie were joined by guest co-hosts Naya Rivera, Mario Cantone and Funny or Die’s ‘Billy on the Street’Bill EichnerWhoopi will be back on Tuesday  (1/20).  She has been recovering from a very painful, herniated disc and Rosie Perez WILL BE BACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH when she’s done rehearsing her play Fish in the Dark (no matter what you read on the Internet).  Rosie said she read the rumor on the Internet last night that Perez was leaving the show and she was like “What the fuck?!”  Rosie said the rumor is NOT true,  Rosie P is coming back!

Hot topics:

Oscar Nominations:  The hosts discussed the Oscar nominations (and snubs).  Naya was really surprised that the film St. Vincent didn’t receive any nominations.  Rosie agreed.  Both Naya and Rosie sobbed when they saw the film.  Selma got nominated for Best Picture but the female Director did not get a nomination, which surprised some people.  It reminded Rosie when Yentl got nominated for Best Picture but Barbra Streisand was not nominated for Best Director.  She said it seemed a little sexist to her.  Mario said when Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple got nominated for 11 Academy Awards he didn’t get nominated for Best Director either.  Nicolle was very happy American Sniper got some nominations. She called it the “best and most important movie” she’s seen in a really long time.  She loved the film because of how it depicted the American solider as a complex individual who is both heartbroken and intelligent, not “either/or.”  She appreciated its depiction of the American solider who believes in protecting their homeland as well as trying to be a good husband and father.  She also thinks it’s an extraordinary piece of work because it was written by a soldier who wrote a book depicting his story but then was killed by a mentally ill veteran before the movie was ever made.  Rosie said many, many veterans come back from war with severe mental illness and they are not getting the treatment they need.  Nicolle recommended the book entitled Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel that is about the PTSD crisis in the military.  Rosie thought the film American Solider white-washed over the amount of PTSD the main character experienced.  Nicolle didn’t think the film did that but admitted she read the book the film was based on before she saw the movie so she may have conflated the two.

NAYA RIVERA, NICOLLE WALLACE, MARIO CANTONE, BILLY EICHNER, ROSIE O'DONNELL

The entire panel was surprised Jennifer Aniston was snubbed for her work in the film CakeBilly said the nominees aren’t the most glamorous list of actors.  He’s not really looking forward to seeing what Robert Duvall is going to wear to the award show, for example.  He would have liked to see Jennifer Aniston there.   Rosie mentioned a scene in the movie The Judge where Robert Duvall’s character, who is getting older, has a bathroom accident and his son, played by Robert Downey, Jr., carries him into the shower.  She called it “the most beautiful scene.”  Naya would have also loved to see Angelina Jolie on the red carpet but she wasn’t nominated for Best Director for her film Unbroken.  And Mario mentioned how none of the actors in the movie Selma were nominated.  Billy was surprised The Lego Movie wasn’t nominated for Best Animated Film.  Regarding documentaries, Rosie was happy Rory Kennedy was nominated for The Last Days in Vietnam, which Rosie thinks is, “one of the most profound documentaries ever made.”  She was sad that Glenn Campbell’s documentary I’ll Be Me was not nominated.  She said she watched it three times and, “It had me sobbing in my bed.”  She recommended everyone see it.

Billy-Eichner-Rosie-OdonnellMountain Do: Two mountain climbers were the first people ever to “free-climb” El Capitan.  Everyone thought the pictures of the climbers sleeping on the side of the mountain were terrifying.  Rosie thinks this should be punishment to prisoners!  Billy said, “That’s very North-Korean of you.”  She actually agreed but her point was that it seems more like a punishment than anything else.  Mario said he would have needed Depends, a puke bag, booze and pills to get through that experience.   Nicolle is from California and her mother was obsessed with camping.  She said a lot of people try this climb that mountain and never make it.  She knows what the climbers achieved was a huge accomplishment.  Rosie recommended Amazon Prime to see some of the great documentaries that have been released about climbing.

A brief Interruption: Justin Bieber just posted a new photo of himself on his Instagram because people were saying that he was airbrushed in the Calvin Klein adsBilly thinks he looks fine and doesn’t care if he was airbrushed or not.  He said everyone gets photo-shopped nowadays.  He thought it was much ado about nothing.  Nicolle said she wants to be photo-shopped to look like she has abs too and Rosie offered to to it for her!  Naya thinks Bieber is annoying to post a shirtless photo of himself. She said he looks like a “douchebag.”  And she said girls don’t want to date guys who are constantly looking at themselves in the mirror.  She said, “Go fix something in the house.  That’s hotter.”  Nicolle thinks Biebs is “a tool” and probably can’t fix anything in the house.  Mario just thinks he’s a child with a lot of money but doesn’t care much about talking about him so he wanted to move on.

Palin Doesn’t Give a Flip: Sarah Palin just said she doesn’t give a “flying flip” if a woman ends up in the White House and apparently less than a third of Americans care if there is a woman President in their lifetimes.  Billy said, “Why is she still talking?  Sarah Palin is like a sitcom that you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s still on the air?’”  Nicolle said Palin said she didn’t give a flip but then went on to say how great it would be if a woman threw her hat into the ring.  Nicolle said when Palin ran for Vice President she felt a real kinship with Hillary Clinton and what she’d been through.  But the lack of caring about a woman President troubled NicolleNicolle is “obsessed” with the idea of a woman President in her lifetime.  Of course, she would like her to be a Republican but women have to decide if it matters to have a woman in the job.  She said, “Look at Washington.  What are we going to do, screw it up?  Women should be given a chance!”  Mario said Palin reminds him of “Kathy Bates in Misery.”

I Don’t Want to See That:  This week’s episode of the HBO hit series Girls has actress Allison Williams in a graphic sex scene that everyone’s been talking about.  The actress admitted to watching the season premiere with her dad, Brian Williams!  Naya was “kind of appalled” because she said it looked like they were doing “it” for real.  She was sure there was no way they could have been “acting” that scene.  As a television actress, Naya said she always has her husband, her parents and her in-laws in mind when she chooses a role.  She said her choices aren’t all about her but they’re also about how they will affect the other people in her life.  She would feel uncomfortable knowing people saw her doing that. Here is a LINK to the scene.  Warning, it’s graphic. 

Rosie did a sex scene with the very handsome Julian McMahon on the series Nip/Tuck.  She said Julian wore a “cock-sock” and she laid on the bed in a tiny tube-top and bottoms.  She looked up and saw him standing with nothing else on but his “sock” and thought, “Oh my God, you look like Superman!”  She said it was very intimidating and there were tons of people around.  At one point, she had to take off her tube-top because you could see it in the shot, so she had to be topless!  Rosie said her kids watch a show called Skins and they pause it whenever she walks in the room.  They get very embarrassed when she’s in the room and a sex scene comes on.  Mario thinks Allison and her father must have a really great relationship to watch the scene like that together.  Nicolle can’t even watch a Cialis commercial or tampon ad with her parents in the room without feeling uncomfortable.

Here’s Rosie discussing her sex scene with Julian McMahon back on The View in 2006!

Guests:

Marisa Tomei: Oscar winner Marisa Tomei, is the star and producer of the new movie entitled Loitering With Intent, where her country house getaway turns ugly.  This is the first movie she’s produced!  She said the two writers and fellow producers are friends of hers and they brought the script to her.  She spoke to the hosts about the film as well as her experience on Broadway in The Realistic JonesesMarisa said she loves doing theater and hopes to do it again.  She talked briefly about her Celine campaign where she doesn’t wear any makeup.  She typically finds photo-shoots tedious but she said the photo-shoot for Celine was a pleasure to do. Since it was Oscar nomination day, the hosts asked Marisa if she remembered anything from the day she won her Oscar.  She remembers the entire experience fondly but said she gets more nervous with every nomination.  Loitering With Intent premieres in theaters January 16th but you can see it on iTunes and Amazon today!

 

MARISA TOMEI, ROSIE O'DONNELL, MARIO CANTONE, NICOLLE WALLACE

Amanda Peet:  Amanda stars in the new HBO series Togetherness as a single woman who has a tough time connecting with people sometimes.  Amanda said she’s obsessed with Nicolle because her best friend is Sarah Paulson, who played Nicolle in the movie Game Change.  Because of this, Amanda sort of feels like she already knows Nicolle.  Nicolle was as excited to meet Amanda as Amanda was to meet her.  In Togetherness, Amanda plays a woman who is a “hot mess” when it comes to dating.  Amanda described her character as “desperate” and someone who wears clothing that isn’t age appropriate.  Amanda told a hilarious story of how she met her husband, who is one of the co-creators of the hit show Game of Thrones.  Amanda and her husband met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend.  After the date, both of them thought it went well but they decided to prank the mutual friend by saying that David, her now husband, started crying during the date over his ex-girlfriend.  Amanda has a children’s book entitled Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein that comes out later this year.  Catch Togetherness on Sunday nights at 9:30 on HBO.

AMANDA PEET, NICOLLE WALLACE, BILLY EICHNER, ROSIE O'DONNELL

Amanda-Peet-Baby-Peet-Rosie-Odonnell

Rosie gets to hold Amanda’s 5-week-old baby!

Teller-YouTube-StarYouTube Star: About a year ago, someone abandoned a spunky little puppy and he wandered the streets of Miami alone until he was picked up by a rescue shelter.  All that pent up energy turned him into a YouTube sensation as well as the star of the show Opening Night Critters at Busch Gardens, Tampa.  Teller, the rescue dog, performed some amazing tricks for the studio audience!  At the end of his performance he raised a banner that said, “Give rescue dogs a chance!”  Joel, Teller’s trainer and owner, joined Rosie and Naya to discuss Teller and how he found and trained him.  Joel said all the dogs, cats, pigs, ducks, rats, pigeons, etc. in the show are rescues.  You can catch Teller at Opening Night Critters at Busch Gardens, Tampa!

TELLER THE DOG, TRAINER, ROSIE O'DONNELL, NAYA RIVERA

Take a little time and enjoy The View!

written by Kelly Weist
KidRo Productions

 

January 12, 2015

Today on The View Rosie P was still in rehearsals for her Broadway show and Whoopi is out with a back injury.  Joining Rosie O and Nicolle on today’s panel were Nikki Glaser, Mario Cantone, and Michelle Williams (formerly of Destiny’s Child) who all entered the stage to the rhythms of Michelle’s new CD, Journey to Freedom.

Hot Topics: 

Golden Globes Dish: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler really went for it last night as hosts of the Golden Globes! Everyone was in agreement. They showed a clip of the duo poking fun at Bill Cosby and several other highlights.  Rosie called the women “brave, funny and smart.” Nicolle said loves award shows and said watching the Golden Globes is like an event in her house.  She loved how in love George Clooney is with his wife.  Michelle hopes Clooney’s love for his wife clues other women in, that they don’t have a chance with him anymore.  To which Nikki quipped that “she will age, and they will have a chance.”  Nikki’s joke made Rosie laugh so hard she dropped the “f” bomb!  They were all touched by Michael Keaton’s tribute to his best friend, his son.  Mario believes the tribute, which made Nicolle cry, reflects that they have gone through something very deep and meaningful together.  He also noted that between the spray-tans and the heat in the room, all the actors were so sweaty they looked like basted turkeys!   They discussed Catherine Zeta Jones and Jennifer Lopez’s looks for the evening.  And Mario joked that Prince looked like one of his Italian aunts, but everyone agreed he is an icon.

Nikki-Glaser-Rosie-ODonnell

Message From Whoopi: Today viewers got a message from Whoopi from her hospital bed, which you can watch on The View’s Facebook pageNicolle went to visit her in the hospital over the weekend and declared her to be “fiery, feisty, and hilarious.”

Rosie’s Weekend: Rosie almost went to the hospital herself this weekend because of stomach pains and then concluded it was because of her “squat/thrust AKA take a poop, reach for the sky” workout on Thursday’s show.  The workout sent her stomach muscles into seizure practically.  She concluded that if she continued to do that workout, she would look like Pink in about three weeks.   Nikki recently fired her trainer because all she was doing was paying someone to teach her “new ways to hold in a fart.”  Rosie quoted her Nana, “Wherever you shall be, let your wind go free.”

Coded Beyonce Instagram Pic: Beyonce recently posted a picture on Instagram of her buried in sand with a mound of sand on her belly that makes her appear to be pregnant.  Michelle gave the inside scoop on Beyonce saying there is no truth to the rumor that she is pregnant.

United in Paris:  World leaders united in Paris over the weekend to show support over last week’s terror attacks.  The U.S. is getting a lot of criticism for not having a top official present.  Nicolle reminded viewers that when the President goes anywhere, thousands of people go with him and she assumed a decision was made that his presence would take away from the event itself.  She said the event was “exquisite” and she bawled when watching the unity march on TV.  She noted that the leader of Jordan (who is a direct descendent of the Prophet who was ridiculed in the magazine) linked arms with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The diverse crowd created an incredible moment to witness. Nicolle did say we should have done a better job and had someone there, but that doesn’t take away from the significance of the event.  Mario said that the fact this happened at a comedy magazine really affected him as a comedian.  Nikki joked that the picture of the leaders with linked arms looked like “the most intense game of red rover” she’s ever seen in her life.

Remembering Taylor Negron:  Taylor Negron, who was a friend of both Rosie’s and Mario’s, passed away over the weekend. Mario said he just adored him.  He said no one made him laugh more than him.  He referenced an article Taylor wrote where he referred to himself as “not famous, but fame-ish.”  He warned people not to write “R.I.P. Taylor” on any social media as readers would think Rip Taylor died [again]. Everyone agreed that he was brilliant.

50 Shades of Grey: Actor Jamie Dornan is playing Christian Grey in the film and he said he’s worried he will be killed by an obsessed fan like John Lennon was, if they don’t like his performance.  Rosie advised Jamie that he not put those thoughts out into the world.  She said, “Only put into the world things you want to attract towards you.  Don’t put out negative things because the universe works with the law of attraction.”  And Nikki thinks Jamie shouldn’t be comparing himself to John Lennon.  Nicolle wanted to know what the deal was with the books and Rosie referred to them as basically “soft porn S&M bondage books.”  Mario said it can be a little scary to be out in the public sometimes when you’re a celebrity and he kind of understood the fear of the obsessed fan.  Michelle thought maybe that was just one of those thoughts Jamie shouldn’t have said out loud.

 

Nicolle’s Puppy:  Nicolle introduced the audience to her new puppy, a Vizsla named Honey!  She said the real heroes are the ones who rescue dogs.  She admitted she’s not a hero, she’s just in love with the breed.  Her older dog, Lily, is actually related to the puppy (her Great-Great-Aunt) though Lily is not so fond of the new puppy just yet.

Honey-Wallace

Nicolle’s new pup Honey with Jim the Stage Manager

 

Guests:

Doctor Oz Two Week Rapid Weight Loss Plan:  Nearly two million people are already on board with Dr. Oz’s Top 10 Rapid Weight Loss Plan and he came to The View to show them how it works!  He said his show has helped millions of people lose millions of pounds of weight.  The diet stresses eliminating refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, wheat, dairy and alcohol.  In its place he suggests drinking hot water with lemon every morning, which cleanses your system.  He suggested drinking the lemon water instead of coffee, if you can.  He said to make a smoothie for breakfast with protein powder and fresh or frozen berries.  And the diet stresses the importance of protein and tons of vegetables in your other meals.  Rosie drinks the hot lemon water every morning and she confirmed that drinking vegetable broth helps turn off cravings.  Oz also recommended tree nuts (not peanuts), nut butter and pickles.

On line Superstars and The Electric Violist: Lindsey Stirling the electric violinist, has racked up over 700 million views on YouTube!  She joked that it is easy to be the best at what you do if you are the only that does it.  And Lindsey believes people “gravitate to authenticity.”  Michelle mentioned how Lindsey has overcome a lot of rejection especially after being voted off of American’s Got Talent by Piers Morgan.  But Lindsey was quick to point out that she is still on TV and he isn’t!  She gave a WOW amazing performance.

Lindsey-Stirling-Rosie-ODonnell-The-View

As a side note, mark your calendars!  Rosie’s HBO Documentary: Rosie O’Donnell: A Heartfelt Stand Up will air on HBO on 2/14 at 10PM EST!

 

Take a little time to enjoy The View!

 

written by Kelly Weist
KidRo Productions

The Anarchist Soccer Mom

Friday, December 14, 2012
Thinking the Unthinkable
In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.

We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.

At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.

Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.

The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”

“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”

His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”

That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.

“Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”

“You know where we are going,” I replied.

“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”

I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”

Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork—“Were there any difficulties with….at what age did your child….were there any problems with…has your child ever experienced…does your child have….”

At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

For days, my son insisted that I was lying—that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.

On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”

And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.

I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map). Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do.

When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”

I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise—in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population. (http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/09/05/us-number-mentally-ill-prisons-quadrupled)

With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill—Rikers Island, the LA County Jail, and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011 (http://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/140167676/nations-jails-struggle-with-mentally-ill-prisoners)

No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.

God help me. God help Michael. God help us all.

This story was first published online by the Blue Review. Read more on current events at www.thebluereview.org