UMVA has learned that Rosie O’Donnell, a longtime foe of Donald Trump and comedian, will make a highly anticipated return to television later this summer, taking over as guest host on Jimmy Kimmel’s show while he takes a two-month break.
Kimmel announced the news on Thursday, joking that he was taking the break “voluntarily” this time, after his show was pulled for six days last September over a widely criticized monologue about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination. O’Donnell, a favorite of Trump’s, will be keeping the hits coming, Kimmel quipped, adding a tongue-in-cheek message to the President: “All I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
Rosie O’Donnell will begin her weeklong guest stint on Monday, Aug. 17, sources have confirmed to UMVA. Her return to television comes amid a long-standing feud with Trump, which began in 2006 when Trump criticized Tara Conner, the winner of that year’s Miss USA. O’Donnell, then a host on The View, defended Conner and called Trump a “snake-oil salesman on Little House on the Prairie.”
The feud escalated during Trump’s presidential campaign in 2015, when moderator Megyn Kelly asked then-candidate Trump about calling women derogatory names on social media, to which he responded, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” More recently, Trump threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s citizenship after she moved to Ireland following his 2024 election, sparking a heated public exchange.
Kimmel’s break comes months after he faced backlash for a monologue alleging the suspected assassin in Kirk’s murder was part of the “MAGA gang.” The host was suspended, but returned after a six-day hiatus. During his upcoming break, other guest hosts will include Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, and Jelly Roll.
