• by Frank Saxe , October 18, 2002

The battle between former talk diva Rosie O’Donnell and the publisher of the magazine that carries her name has led to the firing of 120 Roise employees, as Gruner + Jahr USA officially “suspends” publication of the monthly.

A core team of people led by publisher Joan Sheridan and editor in chief Susan Toepfer will remain to work on new business development projects. Other staff members may be assigned to positions throughout the company.

In a statement released at a staff meeting Thursday morning, Gruner + Jahr said, “O’Donnell’s actions, in breach of her contract, have left us with no choice in the matter.” The statement went on to say that it was particularly tough to close down the title “in light of the magazine's imminent success.” Through September, the company says Rosie’s ad pages were up 63% over last year. Its circulation was 3.5 million.

The November issue of Rosie magazine is currently on newsstands and the farewell issue of the publication goes on sale November 12.