A stressed-out Rosie O’Donnell took to her blog yesterday saying she was “in the bottom of the ninth inning” when a deal to return to TV on MSNBC fell through.
O’Donnell said earlier she “caused panic on the studio end” when she revealed she was in talks with a cable news network to do a nightly talk show at 9 p.m. – opposite Larry King on CNN.
But network sources said the stumbling block to a deal was not the ill-advised leak, but her contract demands.
Reportedly, she was demanding a $3-million salary and a one-year contract. MSNBC was offering closer to $1 million and wanted at least two years from her, sources said.
In a video, called “The Horse’s Mouth,” posted late yesterday on rosie.com, the controversial comic had changed her story.
“I don’t know whether [a cable talk show] would have been the best thing for me,” she said. “But I was willing to probably try.”
From her tone and expression, it appeared that O’Donnell was stunned by the deal’s sudden collapse.
“The game was almost over,” she claimed.
Rosie’s spokeswoman told The Post that O’Donnell was simply going to move on.
“It just didn’t work out for either side,” said the spokeswoman. “No harm, no foul.
“She already filmed ‘Nip/Tuck‘ . . . and will reprise her role as Dawn. And right now she is deciding what to do next.”