Rosie's Mood: Mystery Solved!

Two days ago on The View, it seemed like just another day. Rosie was being her usual outspoken self, but she also seemed to display a level of sadness and disappointment. And then, right in the middle of the Hot Topics portion of the show, she blurted out the reason for her unhappiness.

She has been talking for months about being a member of the menopause generation; suffering from hot flashes and other symptoms. She has been openly discussing these symptoms to her all female panel and mostly female audience, mostly with apparent relief and pride. Along with the more obvious repercussions of this physiological phenomenon that middle-aged women go through, many also suffer from mood swings, irritability, unprovoked crying (sometimes brought on by commercials that feature any family relationships or puppies playing with toilet paper) and bouts of anger towards men, as if it were their fault. Maybe this particular symptom is related to the fact that women go through menopause and deal with these uncontrollable symptoms and men don't (although there is now some discussion about th epossibility of something called "male menopause" which may account for men in their 50's and 60's leaving their wives for women in their 20's).

Rosie has been obviously more outspoken lately than even in the past, and her rudeness and aggression in talking over the other panelists when she disagrees with the slightest expression of an opinion had increaed to the extent that the show was no longer fun to watch (for those who found it fun to begin with). People wondered if she just wanted to get off the show and have her contract ended or if she just wanted to take over and make it a platform for her left wing, pro-gay platform. Alas, the mystery has been solved.

Two days ago the show opened and the Hot Topics segment began. Rosie didn't wait long to announce that although she has been talking almost daily about her having entered the stages of menopause, the signs of which sometimes resembled pre-menstrual syndrome (commonly referred to as PMS), she had been experiencing strong PMS for a couple of days previously. Then, lo and behold, she woke up with her to find that her "friend" had paid her a visit! Yes, that's right, Rosie had her period once again, and she was disappointed. She announced to the world that after missing four periods in a row, she assumed she was menopausal and would never have to buy another Tampon. She was wrong.

This announcement only reflects upon the lack of knowledge Rosie has about her own body and the experience of menopause. She was quickly corrected by Joy Behar who explained that after you have missed your period for one year, only then can you be considered finished and actually in the full stages of menopause. Rosie who presents herself as knowing everything about everything was finally caught in the conundrum of dealing with a subject about which she was not fully informed -- the female body. That begs the question, how often is she misinformed about many of the other subjects that she speaks so openly and loudly? Does this damage her credibility altogether?

Regardless of her knowledge about global warming, the war in Iraq, gay rights (or lack of them) and other controversial issues, her change in these last few months can be attributed to the same thing that many women her age blame for their mood swings: Hormones. Everyone knows that women respond differently to hormonal changes, some are more sensitive than others. It appears that Rosie is one of those women who is very sensitive to these changes and this may have been the reason for her actions and words on the show. It may also have been the reason why she refused (according to her own reports) to come to agreement with ABC on the terms of her contract.

One thing is for certain, she displayed an unusual stance yesterday when commenting about her upcoming interview with Felicity Huffman about her new movie with Lindsay Lohan. She stated that she had already taped the interview and she had asked Huffman how she found working with Lohan. Hufffman had responded that it was fine. Rosie said yesterday that in the interview, she pressed Huffman, saying that she had heard that Lohan was difficult to get along with on the set, had shown up late for filming, etc. And then, completely out of character, Rosie apologized to Huffman on yesterday's show, after the fact but before the interview aired, for being so difficult and putting her on the spot!

That's right, Rosie apologized for being so rude! There can be no other excuse for these changes other than hormonal changes, and most women of a certain age can sympathize with Rosie on that matter. Fortunately for them, they're not appearing on daily TV talk shows and exhibiting their resulting behavior to such a large audience; only their families and co-workers have to deal with their unpredictability.