Rosie O'Donnell's 'The View' exit: sources say there's more to the story

Rosie O’Donnell dropped a bombshell late last week by revealing she would be exiting ABC’s The View for the second time in seven years.

Her reasoning was her split from wife, Michelle Rounds, saying she wanted to focus on her children.

However, Variety is reporting that her family issues aren’t the only reason she’s leaving, and she’s basically using it has a cover-up as to what’s really going on behind the scenes.

O’Donnell was reportedly having a hard time with executives of the show, feeling like they weren’t playing up her strengths enough.

Insiders also say her relationship with Whoopi Goldberg has become another source of contention behind the scenes. O’Donnell served as the moderator during her last stint on the show and while Goldberg now holds that title, O’Donnell is having a hard time with it. She thinks Goldberg is too dismissive of the other panelists viewpoints – case in point: Bill Cosby.

She did, however, take over as moderator when Goldberg was briefly hospitalized, which seemed to improve her spirits.

Her interactions with the ABC staff have been noticeably off backstage though, with one staffer saying “She shut down completely.”

New management also provides some tension. A source simply stated, “There are way too many cooks.”

With the ratings slipping and these co-host shake-ups getting more frequent, the future of The View will be something to watch out for.

image via Roger Wong/INFphoto.com