American comedian and actress Rosie O'Donnell said she left broadcasting without regret after confirming she had $100 million (about 150 billion won) at the height of her talk show career.
On the 11th (local time), U.S. entertainment outlet Page Six revealed the reason O'Donnell left her flagship program, The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
She said "the moment I heard there was $100 million in the bank, I thought 'that's enough. I'll stop.'" She recalled at the time, "everyone around me was puzzled, asking 'why are you trying to leave?'"
O'Donnell admitted that after she had enough financial freedom her life priorities changed. She said "I felt I had enough money to take care of my family as well as charitable activities and people in need," and added, "from then on I wanted to spend more time with my children."
She explained the reason she chose time with her family, saying, "I wanted to go watch my children's softball games and be at school performances with them."
The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which aired from 1996 to 2002, was a hugely popular talk show representing the United States. At the height of the program's popularity, Warner Brothers offered O'Donnell $100 million on the condition of a two-year extension, but she firmly declined.
O'Donnell said, "When I refused the offer, everyone asked, 'why did you refuse?'" She said, "but I already had that amount of money, and if I thought I needed more, I felt something was wrong with me."
Meanwhile, O'Donnell is meeting audiences again on Broadway with her solo play Common Knowledge. The work includes the pain of losing her mother to breast cancer when she was 10, a new life in Ireland, and experiences raising her youngest son Clay, who is on the autism spectrum.
She especially confessed that raising a youngest son on the autism spectrum greatly changed her perspective as a parent. She said, "The way I raised my kids amid great fame in my youth is completely different from how I care for a much more vulnerable child now," and added, "that experience created a deeper intimacy and bond with my child."
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