Jun 15, 2007  |  By: JAMES KIRCHICK  | COMMENTS     

WHATVER HAPPENED TO the Rosie O’Donnell everyone knew and loved? The “Queen of Nice” Rosie who once graced the cover of Newsweek, shot Koosh balls into her TV studio audience every day and rivaled Oprah Winfrey in charisma? As much as I hate to admit, it seems that Rosie’s public persona has taken a turn for the worse ever since she declared herself a lesbian. 

In 2002, O’Donnell came out of the closet in an interview with Barbara Walters. Immediately, she was a boon to the gay community: a popular and funny public figure to whom ordinary housewives in the Midwest could relate. She and her partner showed that gay parents can provide loving homes for children and her For All Kids Foundation has awarded millions of dollars to children’s charities. Immediately after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Rosie ponied up $1 million to help relief efforts and encouraged her fellow celebrities to help out. She was a model public figure.

But it appears that, empowered by her new profile as a world-famous lesbian, Rosie has gone from being the “Queen of Nice” to the “Countess of Crazy.”

In 2003, O’Donnell and the publisher of her once-eponymous magazine sued each other for breach of contract. What emerged in court documents showed a Rosie yet unknown to the public: a prima donna who was cruel and demeaning to subordinates. A former employee of the magazine, a breast cancer survivor, claimed O’Donnell told her that, “You know what happens to people who lie? They get sick and they get cancer. If they keep lying, they get it again.”

But it was not until she became a host on “The View,” the ABC morning show featuring a level of political discussion rivaling that of a small town beauty parlor, that Rosie descended into full-fledged wackiness.

IN HER SHORT, eight-month stint on the show, she has likened U.S. troops in Iraq to terrorists, repeatedly aired conspiracy theories implying that World Trade Center tower 7 was destroyed in a controlled explosion (and links to conspiracy web sites claiming as much on her site), and inferred that President Bush knew about 9-11 before it happened. More recently, she claimed that last month’s capture of 15 British sailors in international waters by the Iranian government was orchestrated by the U.S. and British governments to provoke a war with Iran.

Can we trade the new Rosie in for the old one? Not the closeted Rosie, but the (seemingly) sane one?

Rosie O’Donnell is one of the most prominent gay people in the country. And by no means ought the actions of a single gay person reflect upon all gay people, just as the actions of a single black or Hispanic person ought not reflect on all blacks and Hispanics. But when a celebrity member of a minority community stakes out a position for themselves related to that community (as Rosie has done, admirably, on the issue of gay parenting), she bears a special responsibility to the community of which they are a part.

Whether Rosie likes it or not, her actions have an effect on popular perceptions of gays and lesbians. Just as her promotion of gay parenting humanized the issue for Americans unfamiliar with gay fathers and mothers, so does her promotion of crackpot conspiracy theories about 9-11 reflect poorly on the population and causes — gays and their rights — she is trying to serve and represent.

LIFE IN THE closet can be hellish. It contorts one’s true self. Some go so far as to blame being the closet for ethical misbehavior (see Jim McGreevey, who likewise did a grave disservice to gays by conflating his criminality with his homosexuality), and there is no question that living in the closet is a psychologically unhealthy lifestyle. But what are the many housewives, (who know few — if any — gay people in their personal lives), watching “The View” supposed to think when they see the famous lesbian Rosie O’Donnell claim that 9-11 was an inside job? What are they to think of the Rosie who, before she came out of the closet, was a rational human being?

There is nothing to indicate that O’Donnell’s coming out has led her to spout such crazy views. But as a prominent gay person, she is deserving of our criticism nonetheless.