Rosie O'Donnell Slams Late Director for Insulting Weight Comment
Rosie O'Donnell has shed 60 pounds thanks to Mounjaro, but the scars of Hollywood's weight obsession run deep.
During the filming of the baseball movie A League of Their Own, late director Penny Marshall told Rosie to “lose 20 pounds.” This comment has haunted Rosie for decades, revealing the toxic environment surrounding body image in the industry.
Rosie opened up about her struggles with self-image, admitting that her appearance often overshadowed her talent. She spent years fixated on how she looked instead of honing her craft. “When I would do late-night, my biggest concern wasn’t my set — it was, did I look fat?” she said.
Reflecting on her time with Marshall, Rosie recalled, “On ‘League of Their Own,’ Penny Marshall didn’t help by saying, ‘Rosie, I want you to lose 20 pounds.’ I’m like, ‘You think I carry it around for fun, Penny?’” Now, she wishes she could have appreciated her body at that time.
After starting Mounjaro treatment in 2023 for Type 2 diabetes, Rosie has transformed her health. She lost around 60 pounds and feels “much healthier, more powerful in my own physicality,” despite weighing the same as she did while filming A League of Their Own over three decades ago.
Despite the painful memory, Rosie holds Penny Marshall in high regard. She praised the late director for her contributions to women’s sports and representation in film. On the We Can Do Hard Things podcast, Rosie described Penny as “a woman’s sports freak” and a “feminist,” although she believed Penny never fully embraced that label.
Rosie noted, “I think she didn’t like to think of herself as a feminist. She was older than me, and I don’t know that she wasn’t an ardent feminist like me.”
She elaborated, “She was kind of a closeted feminist in some ways. She didn’t necessarily want to have the banner, but she really supported women and women’s sports and women athletes in a way [like] no one else that I had met.”
Penny’s influence on women’s athletics is undeniable. Rosie credited her with changing perceptions through the lasting impact of A League of Their Own. “She made a profound impact on women’s sports in the history of the United States because of that movie,” Rosie stated.
Reflecting on the film’s legacy, Rosie added, “I mean, I see little kids coming to my door dressed as me for Halloween, and they don’t know I’m Doris Murphy.”
Penny Marshall directed iconic films like Big and A League of Their Own before passing away in December 2018 at the age of 75 due to complications related to heart disease and diabetes.
