[avenir]

I cannot believe there is a person in America, not in a coma, who didn't already know that she's a lesbo.

Exactly. But notice how a large audience was willing to "look the other way" as long as this fact was tacit. The minute it became literal all the negative images associated with "dykes" came flooding into consciousness. Don't ask, don't tell, Rosie.

Lesbian or not, I'm still scratching my head as to how Rosie O'Donnell came into that level of success in the first place. She seemed grating, unfunny and insincere as a talk show host.

[Paul Atreides]

I think she appealed to a certain type of woman (let's face it, her audience was predominantly women). She is not attractive, she doesn't have a great figure, she's dysfunctional, etc. How could you watch her and not feel superior (other than her bank account)? There are a lot of people who will swallow any line of feel-goodism, no matter the source. Just look at Disney.

[sneakypete]

I'm still scratching my head as to how Rosie O'Donnell came into that level of success in the first place.

Simple. Her biggest talent is kissing celeberty ass. When she tells a guest,"I'm a big fan of yours",she means this literally. "Stars" have huge egos to start with,and you can never go wrong with one by sucking up to them. Rosie got her start eating Madonna's carpet,and that got her in the movies and mainstream attention. If it hadn't been for Madonna,she would still be living at home and working for minimum wage. She's not very smart,and she's not very funny.

[ShorelineMike]

I cannot believe there is a person in America, not in a coma, who didn't already know that she's a lesbo.

As a gay man, I'm convinced that Rosie "came out" because the only people who hadn't figured out that she was a lesbian were the people who watched her show.

Lesbian or not, I'm still scratching my head as to how Rosie O'Donnell came into that level of success in the first place. She seemed grating, unfunny and insincere as a talk show host.

See above.