Former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell is set to guest-host ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for the week of August 17. Now, ahead of her first episode and following the successful run of her one-woman show, “Common Knowledge,” she’s opening up about why she was surprised to be offered the gig and her complicated past with Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel announced that O’Donnell and several other celebrities would guest host his long-running late-night talk show in June 2026. Now, just hours before her first episode behind the desk, the TV legend is opening up about the real-life dynamics that made it surprising that she’d be asked to host.
She told Variety, “We’ve never spoken on the phone; we’ve texted a few times. Howard Stern tried to make amends with us, so we’ve been at the same parties a few times, and I would talk to his wife. But Jimmy was never a fan of mine, and it was kind of an adversarial relationship — not that I was fighting back, but I was like, ‘OK, one of the bro guys.’”
However, their relationship changed after his beloved uncle, Frank Potenza, passed away, and she reached out to the host. O’Donnell recalled, “When everything happened with his uncle dying, I wrote him, and he wrote back. So, when my publicist called and said, ‘Do you want to guest-host ‘Kimmel’ for a week?’ I said, ‘I haven’t ever even been a guest!’”
She added, “And then I said, ‘If you’re positive that that’s an actual offer and he wants me to do it, then I most certainly will.’ I was surprised, to tell you the truth, and very thankful.”
Rosie Wishes Stephen Colbert Had Been Supported Like Kimmel
O’Donnell continued her Variety interview by highlighting what she feels Kimmel has done for free speech amid Donald Trump‘s second term as president and the tenure of Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr.
She said, “I support [Kimmel] in what he’s doing with the First Amendment, and our ability as entertainers and citizens to speak out against our government that’s enshrined in the Founding Fathers’ writings about our government, so I think he’s fantastic.”
From there, she brought up Stephen Colbert, whose late-night show ended in May of this year. According to the Former cohost of “The View,” “And I wish that Stephen Colbert had the same kind of support when it happened to him, because he shouldn’t be gone either.”
Regarding CBS, the former home of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” now owned by David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, O’Donnell also spoke about the planned acquisition of Warner Bros. The actress stated, “It would be like Fox taking over all news channels. Imagine if Fox was not one outlier and Fox was the mainstay? That’s what’s happening with Hollywood now, and the Ellisons, and it’s tragic.”
She continued, “Look at what’s happened to CBS News and ‘60 Minutes,’ which was the gold star of their entire network, and they blew it up.”
The Former ‘View’ Star Is One Of Six Hosts In Kimmel’s Absence
The first guest host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” this year was comedian Tiffany Haddish. Notably, the “Girls Trip” alum also hosted the show in 2025 during his summer vacation. After that, other hosts include Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, and more. Now, O’Donnell is the fifth person, with her dates going from August 17 to August 20.
Following her, Jelly Roll will serve as the final guest host for “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Kimmel will then return for brand-new episodes beginning September 8, following Labor Day weekend.
Rosie O’Donnell’s One Woman Show Recently Ended
O’Donnell began a limited Off-Broadway engagement of her one-woman show, “Common Knowledge,” on July 22 at the Daryl Roth Theater. This came after sold-out runs of the show in Ireland, Scotland, and Australia. It then concluded on August 8.
O’Donnell discussed the show with Broadway Direct, stating that she changed elements of it to fit American audiences. She shared, “It’s very much a love letter to Ireland, so there were many references to Irish things that I didn’t think America would get. So I took out some of the Irish stuff, took out a chunk of (the material about) Scotland. And I put in some more stuff about my children.”
Rosie Is In Talks For A TV Return
“The Rosie O’Donnell Show” ran from 1996 until 2002, and the beloved host later served two stints on ABC’s “The View. Recently, while appearing on the “Tangle” podcast, she revealed that her representation is in early talks for a new talk show.
In discussing what the potential series could be, she stated, “It would look a lot like my old show, to tell you the truth. I think America wants nostalgia. I think what they don’t want is celebrity culture. I think celebrity culture is dead in America.”
Regarding the shift in celebrity culture, O’Donnell explained, “There was a time where, if you could get a big star on your show, the numbers went through the roof. Well, that was before the internet — really, it was before you could literally write a DM to me and I’ll respond.”
She went on, “But I think the time for celebrity culture has died down. We’ve been in the land of gross excess in this country or a long time, and I’d like to do mostly human interest stories, tell good news, have fun and games with people like we used to, get to have Broadway on — and if a celebrity wants to come on and chat, that’s fantastic, but it wouldn’t be because they had a movie to promote.”
