During Thursday's taping of ABC's "The View," cohosts Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O'Donnell got into a heated argument over racism. The exchange of words was caught on camera and aired during the "Hot Topics" section, but a source told Radar Online that the drama continued backstage after cameras stopped rolling.
Reportedly, O'Donnell was fuming after the fight and went backstage to cool off when she overheard staff talking about using a split screen if the feud continued later in the show. Apparently O'Donnell wasn't happy about that idea and felt the producers were trying to milk the situation for ratings.
"Rosie went absolutely ballistic, pointing out that was the reason she quit the first time," the source said.
O'Donnell was a cohost on "The View" in 2007 but abruptly left after getting into an on-camera fight with former host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
"Racism is a very serious subject, and Rosie felt that the staff of the show was trying to exploit it for ratings," the source continued. "She threatened to walk out yet again, so using the split screen was ultimately shelved. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed when the show returned from a commercial break."
However, the source said tension on the set is still high especially between Goldberg and O'Donnell.
"Whoopi and Rosie aren't even pretending to like each other on the air," the source told Radar. "It won't be the last time they spar. Needless to say, the crew is looking forward to the Christmas break. Both of them are acting extremely immature."
What did you think of Rosie O'Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg's fight?
