‘Rosie’ reunion
ROSIE O’DONNELL had a virtual reunion with staffers from her former daytime show on Sunday. The idea for the Zoom reunion was jumpstarted on a private Facebook page for those who worked at “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.” “There were about 47 people on the Zoom, and Rosie popped on about an hour into it and everyone went wild when they saw her. She seemed pleased as punch to see everyone together,” a source told us. Comic Joey Kola, who was O’Donnell’s warm-up act, pulled out memorabilia from the show. “He got teary-eyed talking about all the memories, and how Rosie made his career as a stand-up comedian. A lot of people were getting weepy about how much she meant to them and changed their lives,” the insider said. O’Donnell gave kudos to Amy Weinblum, who was an intern on the show and went on to work for O’Donnell’s mentor, Oprah Winfrey, as chief of staff. “One thing that was brought up a lot was the nursery. She was the first talk show host to make sure that any staff who had kids wouldn’t have to worry about day care. She had her own day care center set up at 30 Rock, so even though you were a mom in showbiz, you didn’t have to choose.” On Tuesday, O’Donnell went live on Instagram, and a fan asked if she’d met Keanu Reeves. “He came on my show. He didn’t really say much,” she cryptically responded. Perhaps she’ll elaborate at the show’s next reunion? We’re told they’re planning to celebrate a 25th reunion for 2021 (in person) in NYC.