19. ROSIE QUITS THE VIEW
O'Donnell's reign over The View ended exactly the way it should have: in a split-screen shout-off with conservative cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The impassioned, uncomfortable, please-go-to-commercial-now tiff embodied everything that made O'Donnell's stay on the chatfest so riveting. For nine ratings-boosting months, the former Queen of Nice unveiled a new TV persona — now with 50 percent more liberal outrage! She feuded with The Donald, criticized national institutions from the White House to American Idol, openly discussed her gay marriage, and even held a hungover Danny DeVito on her lap.
CAREER IMPACT: POSITIVE After the blowup, O'Donnell — who had already given notice — quit three weeks early. The ongoing and intense speculation over her next move demonstrates that even an angry Rosie is an in-demand Rosie.
