We are all well aware of Rosie O’Donnell‘s ability to hold her own in a verbal sparring match. She certainly doesn’t feel the need to back down when confronted. She’s told Donald Trump where to go and called out a footballer’s wife. And while I too find myself sometimes bothered by her antics, I respect the heck out of her for not being afraid to speak her mind. What irritates me far more often than Rosie’s occasional bouts of over-sharing is the overblown media reactions to her orations. Seems even off the air, she can’t just be who she is without drawing at least a small amount of sensationalism.
The latest example involves a recent post on Rosie’s blog. Apparently, she and Kelli were confronted by a not-so-nice motorcyclist out in South Beach. Now, I have to admit, I don’t generally go to Rosie’s blog. It’s not that I don’t like Rosie. I do. I’m just not wild and crazy about her. So, I found out about Rosie’s little conversation with the bald biker-man from sites that call themselves news sources. And here are the headlines they enticed me with: “Rosie O’Donnell throws down with a biker” and “Rosie O’Donnell stands up to hostile biker.” Based on these headlines, particularly the first one, I expected details of some knock-down drag-out fight.
So, naturally, I went on over to read Rosie’s words for myself after finding no such details in either of the two “news” stories. Lo and behold, the exaggeration was exposed. What I read on Rosie’s blog was a story of bigotry and Rosie’s poetic response. Seems the biker-boy was a tad bit concerned about the proximity of the O’Donnell’s PT Cruiser to his precious hog. Rosie had made certain to avoid said hog by assisting Kelli in backing out of their parking spot. Bald biker-man apparently saw only a lesbian woman and her car near his beloved bike and blew a gasket. At least that’s the way Rosie tells it. Insults were hurled by cycle dude and Rosie delivered a parting shot as she and Kelli drove off into the sunset. Now tell me good ladies, where was the “throw down?”
See what I’m saying? Even when Rosie’s actions are in response to whatever vileness was directed at her, there are some in the media who automatically make her out to be the loud-mouthed, off-center one. (Look, it’s an out of control lesbian!) Are there other ways that Rosie could have reacted? Sure. Was she out of line to react in the manner in which she did? If the story she tells online is accurate, then I don’t think she was off the mark at all. I’m intelligent enough to realize, however, that two sides exist to every story. Still, I would have preferred headlines that read something like this:”Rosie and Kelli accosted by bigoted biker” or “Biased biker screams his bald head off at Rosie and Kelli.”
Seriously, why can’t we make this about the guy on the bike instead of about Rosie? I know, Rosie appearing to fly off the handle sells more ad space. Still, since we don’t know the biker’s side of things, we are forced to take Rosie at her word regarding what happened. As a result, these so-called news stories should have focused on the newsworthy element of the reported event; the intolerance displayed by the biker’s callous disrespect for a fellow human being.
