Rosie O’Donnell is back behind a network talk show desk this week, taking over hosting duties at “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with stories about life in Ireland, her nonbinary child and, not surprisingly, her decades-long feud with President Donald Trump.
“They said you can’t come home again, but here I am,” O’Donnell told a cheering audience Monday. “And if you thought the president hated ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, buckle up, people. Buckle up.”
O’Donnell is filling in while Kimmel takes his annual summer break. The gig puts her back in a role that made her a household name with “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” which ran from 1996 to 2002.
That was also the year O’Donnell publicly came out as a lesbian. The Advocate named her Person of the Year, making her the first openly gay woman to receive the honor. Since then, she has advocated for LGBTQ+ adoption, foster care rights and co-founded R Family Vacations for queer families.
Much of Monday’s monologue focused on her life in Ireland, where she moved with her youngest child, Clay, following Trump’s return to the White House.
O’Donnell said Clay, who is nonbinary, told classmates about the move despite being asked to keep it quiet.
“I’m being forced to move to another country because the president of the United States hates my mother,” O’Donnell recalled Clay saying. “But in all fairness, I believe my mother hates him more.”
O’Donnell then looked into the camera.
“Hi. I know you’re watching,” she said.
O’Donnell and Trump have publicly sparred since 2006, when she criticized and imitated him while co-hosting “The View.” Trump responded with repeated personal attacks, beginning a feud that has continued for 20 years.
More recently, Trump suggested he could revoke O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship, something a president does not have the authority to do to a natural-born U.S. citizen.
But O’Donnell didn’t spend Monday night dwelling on Trump. Her monologue largely revolved around parenting, dating and settling into life near Dublin.
“So glad you’re back on the telly, you’ve been missed!” one viewer commented on Facebook, while another praised O’Donnell as “not just about the quick joke,” but someone with “a genuine connection with the human experience.”
On Tuesday, O’Donnell returned for her second night and joked about suddenly finding herself back in the spotlight.
“I’m so grateful to be filling in for Jimmy and to be hosting a talk show on network TV once again,” O’Donnell said. “This has been kind of a strange experience for me because all of a sudden I’m re-famous.”
She jokingly gave Trump some of the credit.
“You know, I couldn’t have done it without you, sweetie,” she said.
For John Casey, senior editor at The Advocate, the appearance was a reminder of O’Donnell’s willingness to publicly challenge Trump.
“We should give Rosie a lot of credit for being a great judge of character since she knew Trump was an a-who long before many of us,” Casey wrote following Monday’s show. “That’s precisely what made her Trump’s target of choice for so long, but she hit back, publicly, relentlessly, and without flinching.”
O’Donnell herself described having Trump as her “arch nemesis” after “20 years of him using me as a punchline” as “very trippy” in a July interview with People.
Now, that long-running feud has helped put O’Donnell back in front of a network television audience, something she was more than willing to joke about Tuesday.
“You brought me back,” she told Trump, “Just like you did with fascism and the measles.”
O’Donnell is scheduled to continue guest-hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” through Thursday, Aug. 20. She will be followed by musician Jelly Roll, who will host through August 28. During the remainder of Kimmel’s vacation, the network will air encore episodes until Kimmell’s expected return September 8.
In case you miss O’Donnell’s fill-in gig, it’s available to stream on DirecTV, Fubo, Sling, Hulu+ and Disney+/Hulu. While she has mentioned the possibility of returning to daytime television, O’Donnell has made it clear that’s not a project she wants to tackle while Trump remains in office.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
