Entertainment

ROSIE WHO?

JUST when Barbara Walters thought she was rid of Rosie O’Donnell, the out-of-control comic is about to plunge “The View” into another mess.

In an upcoming book on her tumultuous year on “The View,” Rosie calls Walters “tired” and says the legendary TV personality ought to hang it up.

“Rosie sent me the book with a note telling me how much she loved me,” Walters told “Extra” yesterday on the set of “The View.”

“I have read the book – and I would like to concentrate on the love that she sent.”

The quote – which appeared to have been carefully crafted – was classic, understated Walters.

The newswoman, who has mastered the ropes of international diplomacy over many years, did not say directly what she thought of the new book – called “Celebrity Detox.”

But in her attempt to sidestep the controversy, she left little doubt that her so-called friendship with O’Donnell is over.

And for good reason.

In the book, Rosie says:

“And Barbara. At some point, a person gets tired. It’s inevitable.

“Barbara Walters is almost twice my age . . . at some point it becomes necessary to step back.

“Everyone has to go. Going is part of the gig.”

O’Donnell is 45. Walters is 77, according to her biography.

“Barbara is trying to focus on the love,” a spokesman for Walters said yesterday.

“Barbara was saying, ‘Rosie wrote the book, I read it and she sent me love notes with the book.’ ”

The book’s vitriolic content was revealed first on Page Six yesterday.

It was supposed to be a big day for Walters and “The View” as they announced the long-delayed hiring of a new co-host, actress Sherri Shepherd. She replaces Star Jones, who left more than a year ago.

But the news of Rosie’s slash-and-burn book on the show was a wet blanket on the set.

“And I would be less-than-honest if I were to say that there is no trouble between Barbara and I,” O’Donnell writes. “I mean, our differences are obvious.”

O’Donnell tells the story about people in “The View” audience sometimes yelling “I love you, Rosie,” during a commercial break – “and Barbara politely tells them in a schoolteacher tone, ‘It is impolite to say I love you to one person when there are four us up here.’

“There are many rules I don’t understand,” O’Donnell writes.

Stories of O’Donnell’s run-ins with Walters reached a head after Rosie’s very public spat with Donald Trump over Trump’s giving Miss USA, Tara Conner, a second chance after she admitted to boozing and partying.

O’Donnell called Trump a “pimp” and mocked his challenged hairstyle; he, in turn, called O’Donnell a “fat pig,” among other choice names.

O’Donnell then accused Walters of supporting Trump behind her back.

“Rosie loves and adores Barbara and always will,” O’Donnell’s publicist, Cindi Berger, told The Post yesterday.