The View

Rosie O'Donnell went on the offense yet again, this time the target in her "View" was only the biggest phenomenon on TV, "American Idol."

After showing a clip from last night's "Idol" in which Simon, Paula, and Randy mocked a particularly ridiculous wannabe, Ro tore into the show, calling it "so sad" and excoriating the "millionaire" judges for laughing at contestants. And, as she did yesterday, Rosie suggested that one judge (hello, Paula!) was "probably intoxicated." You could almost feel the squirm ooze out of "Idol" sweetheart Kellie Pickler, who was guest-hosting for the day.

If Rosie seems a little cranky, she's had a tough few weeks, by her own admission. As she told guest Juliette Binoche, she's been dealing with "menopause and billionaires."

Babwa put on her bravest face (or someone's) for Katie Couric's big 50th birthday party in New York, and by "bravest," of course, we mean disturbingly drag-queen-esque.

The "View" den mother looks like she spent some time behind scaffolding -- with these tranny-like results.

Madonna has chimed in on the Donald Trump/Rosie O'Donnell war of words, and has come to the defense of her longtime gal pal.

The Material Mom, who co-starred with O'Donnell in "A League of Their Own," told "Today's" Meredith Vieira, "People are giving Rosie a hard time. I wish they'd stop. I don't think it's fair." Madge revealed she was on vacation when news of the public feud broke, and quickly emailed Rosie to get the real scoop. "I have to hear it from the horse's mouth." Those are her words, not ours!

Madonna believes that since O'Donnell is a standup comic, saying controversial things in monologues is par for the course. "I have a feeling that if every stand-up comic was penalized for saying politically incorrect or provocative things, I think they'd all be hung in the public square." Can you say Michael Richards?

Her Madgesty went on "Today" to plug her new animated film, "Arthur and the Invisibles," which opens Friday.

In a fusion of shameless self-promoters that might explode the media universe into bits, Trump says that fired "View"-er Star Jones gave him a congratulatory call yesterday, presumably for his relentless attacks on Rosie O'Donnell and former boss Barbara Walters. The Donald told the New York Times, "I just got a congratulatory call from Star Jones." At least someone is calling.

In his withering invective against Ro and Babwa, Trump repeatedly referenced the Star saga of summer '06, in which Jones was bitterly fired by Walters, suggesting that Star was somehow mistreated by Walters. Yesterday, in a statement, Trump said that Babs had "lied with Star Jones and now she has chosen to lie again" in l'affaire O'Donnell.

Rosie and Babwa stuck it to The Donald again today, with Babwa calling him a "poor, pathetic man." They showed solidarity with each other and their "View" companions, and Rosie then couldn't resist a little knife-turning of her own.

Rosie opened the show, sneering,"He's at it again," referring to Trump's open letter to Rosie yesterday, in which he recounted a conversation with Walters wherein she supposedly called Rosie a "pig" and essentially gave Rosie her walking papers.

Just after Barbara took her shots at Trump, whom they couldn't bring themselves to call by his name, Ro and Babs reaffirmed (at least on-air) their professional relationship ("We're both OK?" "We're OK"). Then, they engaged in a deeply galvanizing, team-building high five with Joy and Elisabeth, whereupon Ro took one final parting shot at Trump, exclaiming, "His show tanked!" (referring to "The Apprentice's" tepid Sunday debut) and quickly changed the topic.

No word on whether Trump will preempt President Bush's address to the nation this evening to present his response. The Donald did, however, release a statement early this afternoon slamming both of them, yet again.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Trump's "Apprentice" took a serious shellacking in the ratings this week, while Rosie continued to help the yentas on "The View" leave their daytime competition in the dust.

"The Apprentice" finished a distant third in its time slot on Sunday night, light years behind "Desperate Housewives" and "Cold Case," and barely in front of old "Family Guy" reruns on Fox. In fact, Trump's lead-in show, "You're the One That I Want," featuring pathetic Broadway wannabes, scored higher numbers. Ouch!

In contrast, Rosie's been unstoppable ever since she took her first shot at the combed-over real estate magnate. "The View" has been a ratings juggernaut, picking up approximately 77,000 new viewers per week in its metered markets. The latest round of bickering caused nearly twice the surge.

Donald Trump says that Barbara Walters called Rosie O'Donnell a "pig" in a phone conversation and that "she won't be [at "The View"] for long."

Trump sent a letter to Rosie O'Donnell this morning alleging that he and Babwa had a conversation about the Trump-Rosie hostilities while Babwa was on vacation. Trump says that, according to Walters, "working with [Rosie] is like living in hell" and, "Don't worry, she won't be here for long." What's more, Trump says that Walters advised him, "Donald, never get into the mud with pigs."

Donald also tells Rosie that she has "good reason to be angry" at Walters, anger that spilled over in a confrontation yesterday on "The View," prompting two items in New York tabloids this morning. A "View" rep tells TMZ, "Barbara refuses to get dragged into this."

On last night's "Monday Night Raw," the feuding lookalikes exchanged blows. "Rosie" put up a good fight, but "Trump" won the match by body-slamming his plump competitor after stuffing her face with cake, even though she prefers pie. "The Donald's" hair even came to his aid, as he finished off "Rosie" with a vicious hairbutt.

Sigh. If only they'd do it for real!

Rosie wasted no time in her first "View" appearance of 2007 to punch back at Trump, likening the Donald to "Mount Vesuvius" and taking another potshot at the mogul's unfortunate hair. Then, Babwa piled on, asserting that Trump had concocted his assertion that she "hates" Rosie. "Everything he said I said about [Rosie] is totally untrue," said Babwa.

And just when Ro said she would put an end to her Trump-bashing early in the show, she kept on going, and going, and going Energizer-style herself, doing another cranky impression and slyly (and jokingly) insinuating that Trump might have had something to do with the persistent gas smell lingering over Manhattan this morning. (Trump had nothing to say, by the way, during his appearance on "Live with Regis and Kelly" today.)

Melania Trump knows how to stand by her man, although she might not know quite how to say it.

The Donald's trophy wife, who somehow gets hotter by the minute, pumped for her hubby today on "Good Day L.A.," saying that Rosie has "anger inside and she needs to work on that in herself."

She warned Rosie: "She should read his book. In every book he say, if somebody attack you, you attack them ten times harder ... if you watch 'The View' you can see how hatred she has toward my husband." You don't say.

Barbara Walters said she still loves Rosie, but Donald Trump isn't buying it.

On today's episode of "The View," Walters read a statement correcting specifics in a recent rant Rosie O'Donnell waged against Donald Trump, and added that she has never regretted hiring Rosie -- though Trump maintains the opposite was said to him.

Trump called into CNN Headline News' "Showbiz Tonight" and said Barbara's feelings towards Rosie are anything but cordial, and he believes she has to put up a front for the sake of the show. "Is she going to get on and say that 'I can't stand Rosie'? She has to work with her," adds Trump, "Barbara knows what she said to me, and if I really tell you what she said, it just creates havoc." Far be it from The Donald to want any havoc!

Although he says he has nothing but love for Barbara, there's "zero chance" Trump will appear on "The View" to hug it out with Ro anytime soon.

Hear Trump's towering interview tonight at 11pm ET.

Walters said she never told her "friend" Donald Trump that she wanted Rosie off the show, saying, "Nothing could be further from the truth." O'Donnell is currently on vacation and Walters says she will be welcomed back "with open arms."

Last night, the Donald phoned into "Larry King Live" from a phone on his private jet, and continued to bash his newfound enemy by comparing Rosie's claims that Donald went bankrupt to the "lies" that got the U.S. involved in the war in the Middle East.

"When people lie, Larry, I like to go after them. And I think, frankly, more people should be like that. I mean you look at this country, look at the problems we have -- lots of lies got us into the war in Iraq."

Earlier in the week, Rosie posted a message on her blog detailing Trump's financial history. "She said ... I went bankrupt three or four times, there's only one problem, I never went bankrupt."

The bitter feud officially began when Rosie ripped Trump on "The View," for acting as America's "moral authority" in his public pardon of Miss USA Tara Conner.

Fitting, perhaps, since "pig-faced" was just one of the adjectives Trump used to describe Rosie yesterday after their public slapfight exploded. Against expectations, Rosie chose not to get in the ring with the Infamously-Coifed One, making only passing reference to The Donald.

Pointing out the presence of her partner Kelli in the studio audience, Rosie said, "I was afraid to leave her home in case someone with a combover [ahem] came and stole her from me."

And that was that. Meanwhile, Donald vented on "Good Morning L.A." Is Rosie now taking the high road, or has she been silenced? Her rep says she's has no additional comment.

Donald Trump continued his vicious attack on Rosie O'Donnell on Thursday by calling into local morning show "Good Day L.A.," and proclaiming that Barbara Walters hates Rosie as much as he does!

The Donald fired off a litany of insults, personally attacking the "View" co-host by calling her a "bully," "a loser," "stupid," and even compared her to a "clam."

Some of the Trump lowlights were:

Regarding "The View's" surge in ratings this year: "I bring it up because they talk about me. Ultimately, that show will fail because of Rosie," adding, "Barbara (Walters) made a mistake. She cannot stand Rosie O'Donnell."

On Rosie's intelligence: "She's not very smart. I think Rosie is stupid."

On Rosie's appearance: "If you can look as ugly as she looks ... I give her credit for having succeeding moderately."

On Rosie's sexuality: "I think she's very attracted to Miss USA. She probably wanted to put the crown on her head herself."

On, er, well, you figure it out: "She was like a little clam. A disgusting thought isn't it, when you compare Rosie to a clam?"

TMZ spoke to Walters' rep (who also reps Rosie), who says that Barbara had no comment and added that she is on vacation "in the middle of nowhere."

The blowup, which seems to have been brewing for years, exploded yesterday after Rosie attacked Trump on "The View," chastising him for acting as America's "moral authority" in his public pardon of Miss USA Tara Conner.

After the on-air rant, Rosie told "EXTRA" that Donald really didn't care about Conner's drug addiction, calling the whole thing a publicity stunt. "I just think he's a hot bag of wind," said O'Donnell.

Barbara Walters and Rosie O'Donnell got into a whole fight about whether Barbara was richer than Rosie, and Rosie said she was not coming back to "The View" ... and Rosie hates all Asian people.

That was what Babwa and Rosie said we'd write today about a particularly raucous Hot Topics on "The View," and if they're going to write our copy for us, well, thanks, ladies!

The hullabaloo started when Rosie and her boss Barbara began an absurdist quarrel about who was less rich, whereupon Rosie ruthlessly mocked Star Jones' famous on-air eff-you to the show, saying, "After much prayer and counsel, I have decided that I won't be coming back to 'The View.'" She quickly rescinded, but the psychic damage was done.