Rosie O'Donnell's Book Revelation

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday January 30, 2002 01:20 PM EST

Will Rosie O'Donnell come out as a lesbian when her memoir, "Find Me," is published on April 23? She will, an executive at Gruner + Jahr, which publishes her Rosie magazine, has told PEOPLE.com. Although O'Donnell, 39, dedicated her Daytime Emmy award to her constant companion, Kelli Carpenter, last May, the talk show host has never officially declared her sexuality. Speaking to PEOPLE.com Wednesday afternoon, O'Donnell's press representative, Lois Smith, said that the entertainer has never made her sex life a political issue and advised Rosie's fans to "just read the book," which she described as being an "honest, stream-of-consciousness" narrative about various incidents in O'Donnell's life. Smith also said that she herself has not read the manuscript. As reported by New York's Sunday News, in the book O'Donnell "talks about her relationship with women and having a girl break her heart in college." Expanding upon the incident, a Warner representative, speaking to the newspaper, said that the book details a phone call that O'Donnell received years ago and which evidently hurt her feelings. Given that, the G+J exec told PEOPLE.com there is some concern over how the readers of Rosie will react to the admission and how the popularity of the magazine might be affected, especially since the now-high-profile O'Donnell will be off the air in May. (Comedian Caroline Rhea is taking over her TV show, which is being revamped.) Even so, PEOPLE.com was informed, O'Donnell refused to delete the paragraphs in question. In response to Rosie's refusal, Smith said, "And amen to that."