Rosie O'Donnell: Barbara Walters fired me from 'The View'

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/r_...fired_me_.html

Friday, October 5th 2007, 12:07 PM

Barbara Walters' ears must have been burning Wednesday night.

That's when Rosie O'Donnell mounted the stage at Roseanne Barr's invitation during her late-night set at Comix on W. 14th.

Rosie started off by saying, "When I was fired by Barbara Walters" - the first time she didn't stick to "The View's" spin that her departure from the show was by mutual agreement.

Rosie claimed onstage that Walters and other "View" couchmates wear earpieces through which producers tell them what to say, which she refused to do.

Rosie also confided that she and the veteran newswoman were actually so close early on in her tenure as moderator that Walters recommended Rosie use Astroglide, which, she added, took her by surprise.

"But she paved the way for women," Rosie allowed. "She interviewed Presidents ... "

"Like Abraham Lincoln," snapped Barr.

Rita Cosby was in the audience laughing, despite being served with a subpoena earlier at her own party at Pacha for her book "Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death," which has hit the best-seller list. Howard K. Stern, Smith's former partner, has filed suit against Cosby in federal court.

Also at the party: Dominick Dunne, Robin Byrd and Anna Nicole's unpopular mother, Virgie Arthur. Arthur's lawyer John O'Quinn said Arthur was preparing to sue for custody of Dannielynn, Smith's baby by Larry Birkhead, who has custody. Arthur cried as she embraced Beth Twitty, the mother of high-school senior Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba in 2005.

Surveillance
It's nice to be Sarah Jessica Parker. When the "Sex and the City" star was filming outside the Riccardo Maggiore salon on E. 57th, Maggiore ran out with gift certificates for "any services" she and her co-stars want.

Miami's Atrium boutique closed its doors to allow Randy Jackson some peace as "American Idol" hopefuls waited outside for the beefy judge. Upon his exit, the wanna-bes sang their hearts out.

Angelina Jolie turned out for a Tribeca Grand screening that Scott Z. Burns hosted the other night for his directing debut, "PU-239." Based on a short story by Ken Kalfus, the HBO film stars Oscar Isaac as a Russian nuclear worker who tries to sell some plutonium in a desperate bid to help his family.

Terrence Howard may have to wait to break his vow of celibacy. Spywitnesses at Spotlight Live in Times Square Tuesday say the actor tried to turn up the heat with Gabrielle Union, but she wouldn't simmer. Maybe that's because she's already with the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, not to mention past liaisons with Derek Jeter and Howard's "Crash" co-star Ludacris. She rocked as Diddy took the stage at the industry's weekly karaoke confab in the high-tech club.

CBS eminences Mike Wallace, Walter Cronkite and Andy Rooney huddled at Park Avenue Autumn. Wonder if Dan Rather 's name came up.

Side Dish
Reports have been circulating over the last two days of Jessica Simpson drinking and dashing on her tab at The Box, but an insider close to the songstress told us, "She didn't skip out on the bill. Her pal signed the tab [for one bottle of Grey Goose] but mistakenly took the slip with the signature. We called the club and fixed everything." Simpson took some snaps of the simulated silhouette sex show that occurred onstage behind a scrim, while newly single Lance Armstrong kept his eyes on Jess.

"Saturday Night Live" head writer and anchor Seth Meyers must have needed a break from a late-night writing session with "Superbad" star Seth Rogen, this week's host. Meyers turned up at the Lucid Absinthe launch at the Back Room Wednesday and exclaimed, "I can't wait to crack open a bottle! It's been really stressful for two days!" Meyers and a pal drank the elixir (the first absinthe allowed in the U.S. since an early ban for causing hallucinations) right out of the fountain. Meyers did seem happy to see the topless green-painted fairies meandering about. Don't worry, others saw them, too.

The working girls at Nevada's Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel are coming to the defense of Danny Bonaduce. You heard that police are questioning the former "Partridge Family" star after he sent "Survivor" loser Jonny Fairplay to the hospital at Tuesday's Fox Reality Awards in L.A. Sexy Brooke Taylor tells us it's no wonder that Fairplay, who started "monkey-humping" Bonaduce," landed on his face when Danny tossed him. "Jonny was drinking heavily backstage," says Taylor, who came to the awards with her HBO "Cathouse" boss, Dennis Hof. "He was trying to make out with me and [fellow Ranch-hand] Bunny Love. He tried to put his hand up my dress. He even tried to lick my toe. All the while, he was talking to me about his pregnant girlfriend. Classy."

Tyra Banks doesn't push her celebrity weight around. When a cashier at the Chelsea barbecue joint Hill Country offered to cut her to the front of the line, the super-nice supermodel politely refused and waited her turn.

Dan Rather was warmly received at Deborah Norville's book party at Michael's Tuesday night to launch her book "Thank You Power." Norville told the crowd, which included Mayor Bloomberg, Nicole Miller, John Roberts and Jay McInerney, that Rather was "incredibly kind" to her when CBS News hired her after her fall from grace at "Today" in 1991.

Cate Blanchett is no spoiler. During the Cinema Society and W mag screening of "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" at the Tribeca Grand, when a traitor fired a bullet at QE1, the screen went black. While moviegoers like Salman Rushdie, Michael Imperioli and Anna Wintour waited for the glitch to be fixed, someone shouted out, "Cate, what happens!?" The "queen" kept mum and the flick resumed.

You gotta have Faith... and David Letterman sure did Wednesday when Ms. Hill made a stop on his late-night chat show.

Mariah Carey was asked the tough questions in the new Glamour - like how many bathrooms are in her Tribeca penthouse. "I don't know!" she tells the mag, on stands Wednesday. "Do you want me to really try and think about it?" Fortunately, she did manage to stumble upon one powder room that's filled to the tippy-top tiles with her collection of pink Hello Kitty gewgaws, all sent by fans.

What's the buzz? Just ask a close-cropped Mena Suvari, who joined "Hills" hottie Brody Jenner at the Back Room's Lucid Absinthe launch party here in NYC.

Say cheese! Kanye West played paparazzo with fiancée Alexis Pfeiffer, Courtney Love and Mario Testino at the Givenchy fashion show in Paris.

Fashion plate Sienna Miller donned an Alexander McQueen dress and a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes at Wednesday's U.K. premiere of her new flick, "Stardust."