Donna Meagle is the coy and confident ballbuster from the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department. As the main lady for Permits Security in Pawnee, she didn’t have much of a storyline in the first two seasons but she eventually made her way into Parks and Recreation’s hearts with her sassy one-liners, treat yo self mantras and mysterious life outside of work.

However, fans can’t deny that Donna wasn’t always a diehard Leslie Knope follower or even the nicest person in city hall. In fact, some would say that her forwardness and candidness became over the top by the last season. For proof, keep scrolling to see 10 reasons why Donna got worse and worse.

10 She Took Advantage Of April After Years Of Friendship

April didn’t get along with too many people. She can save face and act professionally when she needs to but she’s typically rolling her eyes and talking behind people’s backs most of the time. When it came to Donna, April actually respected her and looked up to her sage advice.

You could say Donna acted as April’s older sister. But when April finally stepped up to the plate and took over the animal shelter in Pawnee, Donna took advantage of her. Donna was supposed to be working the desks but when Ron showed up to adopt a dog, she was nowhere to be found and didn’t take the job seriously. April was left hurt and wondered about their friendship.

9 She Will Always Choose Her Car Over Friends

Donna Meagle doesn’t act like she cares about her job but she’s successful enough to own a Mercedes-Benz ML350 SUV, so she’s doing something right. Donna makes it clear early on that her Benz is her baby and she cares more about its condition than those riding in it.

A great example of this is when Tom shot Ron in the head on their hunting trip and her car was damaged. She was screaming and crying over some broken glass but not for her boss who was just shot in the head. In another episode, she makes Ben throw his soup on the ground because there’s no “eating in the Benz.” Her love for her car is understood but to love it more than a friend? That’s cold.

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8 Donna Live-Tweeted Her Hatred For Leslie

In the sixth season (a time where Donna should be learning from her mistakes and showing some growth), Donna accidentally tweeted a scandalous tweet on the parks and rec. department’s Twitter page instead of her own. As bad as her tweet was, the investigation proved that Donna wasn’t as good a friend to Leslie as she portrayed. On her own Twitter page, Donna openly complained about her job and called Leslie a variety of unsavory names that should have gotten her fired.

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Sure, Donna followed those horrible tweets with nice tweets later on but cursing off your boss on Twitter is a no-no and a low blow for Donna.

7 Is Donna Ever Satisfied?

In the sixth season, fans learn that Donna has a man in her life who she refers to as her “Tammy.” Just as Tammy 1 and Tammy 2 drive Ron insane, a man named Joe does the same thing to Donna. While she and Ron were helping out at an elementary school, the two ran into Joe and she stumbles down a rabbit hole of former emotions.

The two eventually get married but before Joe was in the picture, Donna was known as a notorious man-eater. She didn’t like to be tied down and got bored easily. After seven seasons of watching Donna bounce around from guy to guy, it makes you wonder if Donna will ever be satisfied; even in her marriage to Joe.

6 She’s Always More Interested In Drama & Outside Activities Than She Is On Work

Donna loves live-tweeting dramatic moments, enjoys watching Scandal, and loves when there’s office gossip. It’s not known how long Donna has worked at the parks and rec. department but she seemed to care more about the theatrics than the wellbeing of her co-workers or even her work.

She had no problem leaving work to treat herself with Tom, she tried digging for more information when Ben was feeling down, she watches Jerry like a hawk when he’s stuffing envelopes… Donna focuses on everyone else’s lives instead of the work she should be working on.

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5 She Doesn’t Help Others If She Finds It Beneath Her

Donna is fabulous but she’s a diva. She can be self-centered and judgmental when things she doesn’t find interesting involve her. When Ann was working for the health department, she needed everyone’s help in the parks and rec. department for a solution to the water fountain problem.

Everyone—including Andy—tried helping Ann, but Donna? Her response to helping out was “Do I look like I drink water?”. Donna is getting paid to be a participating parks and rec. employee and yet adds nothing constructive to the conversation.

4 And She’s Not A Great Friend To Anyone In The Office

Speaking of helping out co-workers in need, Donna doesn’t seem to care about anyone but herself. If there’s drama or theatrics involved, Donna is there in a flash but when it’s something personal, Donna takes her time. At the end of the day, Donna is out to protect herself and make her money — that’s all she cares about.

She tried to ignore Ann at the speed-dating event, she didn’t go to April and Andy’s wedding – heck, she’s not even close to her family because they bicker too much. Donna has a heart of gold when she wants to but it sure does take a lot.

3 Her Character Wasn’t Memorable

Unlike Leslie, Chris, and Andy, Donna’s character really wasn’t memorable. It seemed like the writers didn’t know what to do with her character until the middle of the series.

It’s not until later on that we find out Donna has done well for herself and has multiple homes and owns a realty group. Season six was a big season for Donna because of her wedding to Joe but before that? Her character’s background isn’t well-known.

2 And She Was Pointless To The Plot

One Reddit fan pointed out something fascinating: Donna Meagle’s character is pointless to the plot of Parks and Recreation. Besides her wedding and her Twitter investigation, the show would have progressed with or without her. Deleting her from the scenes she was in would have no impact on the story or Leslie’s run for city council.

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April and Andy were in similar positions to Donna and yet their characters and relationship were important to Parks and Rec.’s story. The writers could have integrated Donna more into the script after seven seasons.

1 She Treats Men Like Objects Until She Marries Joe

It was refreshing watching a woman on TV dating around without feeling the urge to settle down and start a family. Funny enough, she was the female version of Tom except Donna had far better luck with men than Tom ever did with women. However, Donna treated men they were emotionless objects.

She bragged about having multiple men on rotation and on different coasts. She loved having more than one man and spreading out her money in different places. She was a baller but if it’s not okay for Tom to treat women like objects, it’s no okay for Donna to do the same.

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About The Author


Lynn Gibbs
(1645 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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