Jimmy Kimmel reports Rosie O’Donnell as a guest host on his ABC talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a “special treat” for the president Donald Trump.
“I’m taking the next two months off — voluntarily this time,” Kimmel, 58, joked during his monologue on Thursday, June 18.
The comedian was referring to his suspension by ABC in September 2025 for comments related to the political fallout from the conservative’s assassination Charlie Kirk. (Trump has repeatedly called on ABC to fire Kimmel, but the network extended his contract for a year in the wake of the scandal.)
As Kimmel takes a break from late night TV, Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue throughout the summer with celebrity guest presenters.
Rosie O’Donnell’s long-running feud with President Donald Trump goes back nearly 20 years. While the two were once friends – O’Donnell has even claimed to have attended Trump’s 1993 wedding to his ex-wife Marla Maples – a very public argument on The View in 2006 turned into a nasty war of words that (…)
“To start with, we have put together a powerful group of hosts who will step in for me Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jellyroll” he revealed to the audience.
Choosing a guest host specifically for the president, Kimmel revealed, “As a special treat for our Commander in Chief, I’ve asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to continue delivering the hits. You’re welcome!”
“All I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m away,” Kimmel quipped.
A spokeswoman for the 64-year-old O’Donnell subsequently confirmed to several media outlets that she would be hosting for a week Jimmy Kimmel Live! Episodes from Monday, August 17th.
O’Donnell shared Kimmel’s announcement via Instagram on Friday, June 19, with the caption: “And I can’t wait!!!”
Jimmy Kimmel; Rosie O’Donnell; Donald Trump
Getty Images (3); Kevin Winters; Jamie McCarthy; Dimitrios KambourisBoth Kimmel and O’Donnell have frequently clashed with the 80-year-old Trump over the years. After Trump’s second presidential election victory, O’Donnell moved to Ireland and began the process of obtaining Irish citizenship. (Trump has repeatedly threatened to strip O’Donnell of his American citizenship, although it is not clear whether he has the legal authority to follow through.)
O’Donnell recently returned to the United States to perform her solo stage show Commonly known this summer at the Daryl Roth Theater in New York City. Earlier this month, she called Trump supporters “racist, homophobic (and) un-American” for continuing to support him.
While the comic will definitely be back on TV Jimmy Kimmel Live! in August, she said Andy Cohen To Watch what happens live with Andy Cohen that there are no plans for them to return to their former stomping grounds The view as a guest panelist.
Rosie O’Donnell revealed she secretly traveled to the United States after leaving the country during Donald Trump’s second term as president. “I was home for two weeks recently and I didn’t actually tell anyone,” O’Donnell, 63, said after a call to SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings on Friday, February 13. “I just visited my family. (…)
“I would be willing to host the guest, but they haven’t asked me. So we’ll see what happens,” she hinted on Thursday, June 18.
O’Donnell memorably hosted her own daytime talk series The Rosie O’Donnell Show – which won five Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show from 1996 to 2002. She later hosted the short-lived Primetime Rosie Show from 2011 to 2012.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs every weekday on ABC at 11:35 p.m. ET.
