When it’s time to say good-bye, it’s also time to leave the past in the past. After hearing the news of Barbara Walter‘s passing, comedian and daytime talk show host Rosie O’Donnell was among the first to pay tribute. The pair had famously co-hosted The View together int he early 2000’s, and taking to her Instagram, Rosie remember that time together by posting what looks like a photo of them behind the scenes of the show.
The women both dressed in white, Rosie kept her message to the iconic, trailblazing Barbara with a simple, yet powerful message in the caption. “Legend,” she wrote, before wishing her to rest in peace. She also posted a video, talking about the “barriers” that Barbara broke for women and all their good times together going to Broadway shows together. “I was lucky enough to be in her orbit for a good many years.”
Barbara created the long-running all-female ABC talk show in 1997. Though she retired as a cohost in 2014 after 16 seasons, the journalist still served as an executive producer until her passing. For her part, Rosie had two stints on the panel: her first from 2006 to 2007 and her second from 2014-2015. Though Rosie paints a picture of a sweet friendship between, women reportedly had a falling out while working together on the show, with Barbara very unhappy about the amount of negative attention The View got because of Rosie’s outspokenness and feuds with other hosts.
In Ramin Setoodeh’s book, Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, it is said Rosie did not get along well with then-executive producer Bill Geddie – so much so, that Barbara threatened to quit if Rosie was re-signed to the show. Rosie was let go the final season, only to return once Barbara had retired herself.
But things change, people grow, and to hear her tell it, Rosie and Barbara were able to be friends more than there were at odds. That’s what you like to hear.