Rosie O'Donnell's stormy tenure on "The View" will be a short one. The opinionated host was unable to agree on a contract with ABC, and she'll leave the show in June.

"My needs for the future just didn't dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me," O'Donnell said in a statement Wednesday.

"This has been an amazing experience," she said, "and one I wouldn't have traded for the world."

O'Donnell has helped raise the ratings for the daytime chat show invented by Barbara Walters. But her outspokenness has caused almost constant controversy, including a nasty name-calling feud with Donald Trump that placed Walters squarely in the middle.

"I induced Rosie to come back to television on `The View' even for just one year," Walters said. "She has given the program new vigor, new excitement and wonderful hours of television. I can only be grateful to her for this year."

Walters was frequently left to clean up the damage after O'Donnell. She did it most recently Monday, when O'Donnell was criticized for using bad language and attacking Rupert Murdoch from the dais of the annual New York Women in Communication awards luncheon.

"I would like to point out that Rosie's view is not always mine," Walters said. "I would like to say for the record that I am very fond of Rupert Murdoch."

In the Trump imbroglio, O'Donnell was reportedly mad that Walters did not come more swiftly to her defense, while Trump said Walters told him she didn't want O'Donnell on the show — a claim Walters denied.

Statements by public figures are being watched more closely in the post-Don Imus era. The lobbying group Focus on the Family said it was preparing to contact advertisers on "The View" as part of a campaign against O'Donnell. The group is angry at O'Donnell for comments they feel were insulting to Catholics.

Despite controversy — or maybe because of it — O'Donnell was good business for ABC, owned by the Walt Disney Co. Ratings for "The View" during February sweeps were up 15 percent in key women demographics over the same time in 2006.

Bill Carroll, an expert in the syndication market for Katz Television, said he'd be surprised if ABC didn't try hard to keep O'Donnell, given the attention she brought to the long-running show.

The timing of the announcement doesn't particularly suit O'Donnell if she wants to remain in daytime television. She wouldn't be able to introduce a new program to the syndication market until September 2008, he said. But the company that produced O'Donnell's long-running daytime show has expressed interest in having her back, he said.

I knew it.

she's the reason i watched the view to begin with, and whether i agreed with her or not she has definitely always shed some light on different interesting issues.

so why did she say she is leaving ...

was just curious ...

on a serious NOTE ... i think ROSIE and ALEC baldwin's politics are not the same as mine --- however i like to watch them ... I never caught the VIEW (not home at that time ) but whenever ALEC was on shows ... whether political or NOT ... i try to watch ...

oops sorry ... i see her statement ...

Mach said:

The media is making it out to look that she was fired. She said from the get go that she only planned to stay for a year, if ABC decided to keep her she would have a family vote. I also think she herself did not want to be tied down for another two on THEIR terms. Looks like they've come to an agreement that she'll be back next season as guest host and work with Barbara on one hour specials on stuff like Austism and Depression.

While it saddens me that she will not be on everyday..I wish her nothing but the best and there's always her video blog...

I heart RO!

Oh wait, I don't watch The View.

live4lust said:

oh, hells bells

Like people couldn't see THAT coming a mile away

I'm sure FAUX News and Rush will be taking responsibility for this soon enough.

I hate that fat lesbian bitch!

EverSoulicious said:

Exactly! Are we really supposed to believe that "My needs for the future just didn't dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me"? Please! We're not that dense, are we?!

liberation said:

So if she was thin and hetero, you'd like her?

Quite possibly, it's the whole "rosie" package that grates me, but yeah...the fat lesbian part adds alot.

liberation said:

You're definitely not alone. I'm not a big fan either, but I do appreciate a person who speaks their mind.

lazycrockett said:

Thats the part that bugs me about her announcing TODAY...just 2 weeks ago Fox wanted her fired...so in the so called 'No Spin Zone' they will be spinning this as their powers getting her fired...

and to those that hate fat lesbians...FUCK YOU!

I'm making a statement of fact:
Is she fat = yes
Is she lesbian = yes
Is she a bitch = yes
Do i hate her = yes

As such i hate that fat lesbian bitch.

liberation said:

"ding dong the witch is dead"

kpowers said:

that is excataly what i was thinking as i entered this thread

So they didn't offer enough money? good for them!

I wish he would just leave.

jerseykrs said:

thats wrong

'a truck driver'

liberation said:

that's some impreckable logics there, buddy!

sweet said:

was it grammatically incorrect?

Well, I guess she served her purpose: give the show's ratings a spike by acting like she'd lost her mind. I wonder if she got a bonus, every time she was mentioned in the press for doing something zany...

she is not leaving she was FIRED!