Rosie O'Donnell was very surprised that her comments about Lindsay Lohan started a big scandal.
O'Donnell appeared on TODAY's professionals panel Tuesday and shared her thoughts that Lohan should not have been cast to play Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime biopic, Liz & Dick.
On Thursday, O'Donnell further explained her comments to TODAY, "I [was] watching Whitney Houston's funeral, and I remember thinking why didn't more people say what they knew? We all knew, when she would not show up to do this show, not show up to do my show, we watched Being Bobby Brown and it was like watching Sid and Nancy, they were people who were in the throes of addiction. But all that anyone cared about was that the show was getting ratings, not that this woman, this talented individual, this human being, this mother, this daughter, was worth saving."
"To look at Lindsay Lohan you can't help but feel for her," O'Donnell, 50 said of the 25-year-old actress. "I don't think she's untalented, I think she's quite talented."
Lohan was taken off probation from her 2007 Beverly Hills DUI case on March 29, but remains on probation for her necklace theft until May 24, 2014.
O'Donnell told TODAY Tuesday that she didn't believe Lohan is ready to return to acting, explaining, "Because she's had a lot of trouble doing every single movie, including SNL. She was out and not at rehearsal. I think she's not in a place to work." She added, "I don't think she's right for the role and I don't think she's capable at this point of doing what's needed."
Lohan responded to O'Donnell's comments Wednesday to Access Hollywood. The actress said, "It's funny that someone you don't know at all can say something so intrusive and so knowing."
Tell Us: Do you agree with O'Donnell's comparison of Lindsay Lohan to Whitney Houston?
