Rosie O’Donnell Says Samara Weaving’s ‘SMILF’ Allegations Were Caused by “A Big Mess of a Girl Fight”

Rosie O’Donnell is opening up about the misconduct scandal that canceled Showtime comedy SMILF. In a new interview with The Daily Beast‘s Marlow Stern, O’Donnell explained that when SMILF star Samara Weaving came to her with a complaint about creator and star Frankie Shaw, she reported it to a producer, and the studio launched an investigation that ultimately led to the show’s cancellation. While the actress believes Weaving’s allegation of impropriety, she suggested that it could have been caused by a personal dispute between the women. “It seemed like a big mess of a girl fight,” O’Donnell said of the SMILF controversy.

In her interview with Stern, O’Donnell went into great detail about SMILF‘s demise in late 2018 – early 2019. The star, who played Shaw’s mother Tutu, revealed that the controversy was particularly “confusing” to her, as she “never saw one problem, never heard one complaint” during her two seasons on the set. However, after filming wrapped on Season 2, O’Donnell received a call from Weaving, who claimed that Shaw made her feel uncomfortable while filming a nude sex scene. O’Donnell brought the allegation to a producer’s attention, and after ABC Studios conducted an investigation, Showtime canceled SMILF just four episodes into its second season.

O’Donnell told The Daily Beast that the investigation was “a big cacophony of craziness” that only escalated once the show was canceled. “When they decided that, even though it had done so well in the ratings and reviews, that they were going to pull the show based on what had happened,” she said, “I was stunned and kind of regretful that I had even said anything because that wasn’t the ending that I thought was going to happen, and that wasn’t what I perceived to be the reality of the show.”

The actress went on to say that she didn’t work very closely with Weaving — Tutu and Weaving’s character Nelson rarely shared scenes — so she was “surprised” to get a phone call from her. “I don’t know what went down between her and Samara, but I know that Samara was playing the real-life counterpoint to Frankie’s real-life ex-husband, so I didn’t know if there was underlying tension,” said O’Donnell. “[Weaving] was playing this Australian sportscaster, which is exactly what [Shaw’s] baby daddy’s new wife does in Australia. I didn’t know if there were undertones that nobody could see that only they were relating to.”

However, despite the SMILF controversy, O’Donnell still has “complete and utter faith” in the show’s auteur. “I think the woman is a genius. I think she has so many outlets and so much authenticity,” she said of Shaw. “I’m glad to know that she is working again. I’m going to be in her show Wifey on HBO. And I firmly believe in her.”

For more on the SMILF misconduct scandal, read Rosie O’Donnell’s interview with The Daily Beast‘s Marlow Stern.

Where to stream SMILF