Biggest Baby Boomer Feuds

Kathy Griffin never hides her opinions about anyone in the public eye, and Sarah Palin was no exception. Griffin often goes after Palins politics and has spent a lot of time mocking Palins oldest daughter Bristol, a teen mom and Dancing With the Stars contestant. Griffin is always hungry for publicity, so in 2009, she started dating the young father of Bristols son, the fame-hungry Levi Johnston. On her reality show, My Life on the D-List, Griffin went up to Palin and Johnstons hometown in Alaska to track Palin down. Griffin didnt meet Palin, but she left her a note inviting the former Alaska governor to a show.

In 2011, Palin finally fired back. Griffin announced that she would play a Sarah Palin-like character on the Fox show Glee, and that seemed to be the last straw. Palin let loose about Griffin, who previously said she wants to take down Palins 16-year-old daughter Willow over Willows use of a gay slur on Facebook. Palin called Griffin a 50-year-old bully and a has been, adding that Griffin should pick on her instead of her children. In return, Griffin invited Palin to see her show on Broadway. As far as we know, Palin never took Griffin up on that offer.

Rosie ODonnells feud with Donald Trump was the beginning of the end for Rosie on The View. It all started when the winner of Trumps Miss USA pageant Tara Conner was accused of partying and shirking her responsibilities in 2006. Trump made a big show of reviewing Conners behavior and announcing that she will get to keep her crown. On The View, ODonnell reacted to the announcement with a serious eye roll, noting what she saw as the irony of Trump being held up as an arbiter of morality after his multiple, public divorces. She also claimed that Trump had gone bankrupt at one point and had improperly tried to convince people that he built his business from the ground up ODonnell even called Trump a snake-oil salesman. In addition, ODonnell attacked the Miss USA pageant itself: Miss America is the prestige. Miss USA is a different thing. Its basically a model competition. Lets be realistic.

Trump never misses an opportunity to open his mouth, so he naturally fired back with some pretty nasty words. I think shes just terrible, Trump said. Rosies a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie. Trump also called ODonnell a degenerate during an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman.

Eventually they stopped taking shots at each other at every opportunity, but this feud was never truly resolved, and once in a while, youll hear Trump go after ODonnell or vice-versa. What would we do without these ultra-sensitive celebrities?

Tom Cruise is normally good-natured in interviews, but he went through a period where things were a little off. In 2005, Cruise was promoting War of the Worlds on the Today Show when he launched into a screed about psychiatry in which he claimed to be an expert about the subject. Cruise called psychiatry a pseudoscience, called Matt Lauer glib for pressing him on the subject, and then lashed out at Brooke Shields, who had been open about her struggle with and treatment for postpartum depression.

Shields didnt take this attack lying down. The actress published an op-ed in the New York Times responding to Cruises attacks. She explained that after the birth of her first child in 2003, she found herself feeling severely depressed; even suicidal. Counseling and antidepressants saved her life, Shields wrote, adding that Cruises comments did a disservice to mothers everywhere.

The following year, Shields revealed that Cruise gave her a heartfelt apology, and that all was forgiven.

David Letterman is a comedian. He pokes fun at people in the public eye for a living. Sarah Palin is also in the public eye, along with her daughter, Bristol. Letterman made a throwaway joke about Palins 2009 trip to New York City, saying The toughest part of her visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter. Youll remember that Eliot Spitzer was the disgraced New York governor who was caught frequenting prostitutes.

Youll also recall that Palin has three daughters. Her oldest daughter Bristol gave birth to a son in 2008, as an 18-year-old high school student. But the Palin family assumed Letterman was referring to then-14-year-old Willow.

Any jokes about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too, said Palins husband Todd. Palin herself responded with this lengthy comment:

Concerning Lettermans comments about my young daughter (and I doubt hed ever dare make such comments about anyone elses daughter): Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyones daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.

Letterman responded with what else? jokes, using Palins trip to New York as the basis for one of his famous Top 10 lists. He was also sure to note that while his joke about Palins daughter may have crossed the line, he was referring to her oldest daughter Bristol, not the 14-year-old Willow. Was that enough drama for you?

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were once one of Hollywoods hottest couples. Then Pitt made a little film called Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Angelina Jolie. Pitt and Jolie got a bit too close while they were making the film all while Pitt was still married to Aniston. Pitt and Aniston divorced in 2005 and Pitt paired up with Jolie full time. He adopted her three children and the couple later had three biological children together. While rumors about a feud between Jolie and Aniston helped sell a lot of magazines, both actresses opted to stay above the fray. That is, until 2008.

While promoting her film Changeling in an interview for the New York Times Magazine, Jolie let a detail slip. Jolie said she could hardly wait to show her kids Mr. and Mrs. Smith, because not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love. Oops! Aniston and Pitt were still married when Pitt filmed Mr. and Mrs. Smith happily so, as far as Aniston knew. That was really uncool, Aniston said of Jolies comments about Mr. and Mrs. Smith, noting that she hadnt known what was happening while Pitt was working with Jolie. The actresses seem to have called a truce, but tabloids continue to pit (Pitt?) them against each other.

Jay Leno was known for his famous feud with David Letterman in the early 90s, but his face-off with Conan OBrien took contract disputes to a whole new level. OBrien was all set to take over The Tonight Show from Leno in 2010, in accordance with contracts both stars had signed at NBC. But Lenos Tonight Show was still doing well, and Leno refused to go quietly. NBC executives were worried that Leno would take his act to a different network and compete with OBrien, so they did whatever they could to keep him ultimately, this meant letting Leno do his version of The Tonight Show every night at 10 p.m. The show was a flop, and angered both NBC affiliates and OBrien, as it provided a weak lead-in for their programs. NBC needed to make a change. Execs tried to put Lenos show back in The Tonight Shows timeslot, thus pushing back the actual Tonight Show into tomorrow. OBrien wouldnt go along with it, and much was made of what appeared to be his abandonment by the network. OBriens young fan base mobilized to show their support, forming an Im With Coco campaign to keep the gangly host on the air.

That momentum wasnt enough to keep OBrien on the air. The host resigned after weeks of speculation, and Leno got his old job back. Since then, OBrien went on a successful comedy tour and launched a new talk show on TBS. The new show, Conan, doesnt get the ratings Lenos Tonight Show pulls in, but OBrien seems happy to be back on the air with his trusty sidekick, Andy Richter. Besides, he still has Team Coco behind him.