Rosie O’Donnell returned to late-night television this week as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, immediately leaning into her long-running feud with Donald Trump by dubbing him Mango Mussolini during her Monday monologue while also paying tribute to the late actress Hayden Panettiere.
A Late-Night Return and a Familiar Target
Stepping behind a television desk for the first time in almost thirty years, Rosie O’Donnell kicked off a four-night guest-hosting stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live! by addressing the political tensions that have defined her public relationship with Donald Trump for decades. If you thought the president hated Jimmy Kimmel Live! when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel?
O’Donnell declared as she kicked off Monday night’s episode, her first in a four-night stand as guest host. Buckle up, people! Buckle up.
The guest-hosting assignment came as NPR noted during Kimmel’s summer vacation, with Jimmy Kimmel himself joking when announcing the lineup that he asked O’Donnell as a special treat for our commander-in-chief to keep the hits coming. O’Donnell explained during the broadcast that Trump’s presidency played a direct role in her decision to relocate abroad, telling viewers she has been living in Ireland for the past two years.
“I read that Project 2025 and said, ‘Gotta get myself out of here!’ And I decided to go to Ireland where people are driven to drink regardless of who’s running their country.”
Rosie O’Donnell, Guest Host
Decades of Friction and Media Context
The public animosity between O’Donnell and Trump stretches back to 2006, starting when she mocked his bankruptcy as host on The View. Over the years, the friction included personal barbs and a reference by Trump during a 2015 presidential debate. NPR critic at large Eric Deggans noted during a broadcast discussion that O’Donnell and Stephen Colbert are probably the only people on TV whose conflicts with Trump rival Kimmel’s issues. Deggans also noted that O’Donnell hosted her own successful syndicated talk show from 1996 to 2002, cohosted The View, and had a talk show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network.
Despite the high-profile tension, NPR’s coverage pointed out that O’Donnell’s monologue relied more heavily on lighthearted anecdotes about her life in Ireland—including how her child announced the impending move to classmates by saying, I’m very sorry. I won’t be able to graduate sixth grade with you. I’m being forced to move to another country because the president of the United States hates my mother,
—than on relentless political attacks. While she briefly noted that today, everything is so chill compared to past eras of political scandal, she spent a portion of the broadcast focusing on personal reflections rather than targeting the White House continuously.
Tributes and Looking Ahead
Midway through the broadcast, the tone shifted from political sparring to personal grief. O’Donnell paused the entertainment lineup to address the death of actress Hayden Panettiere over the weekend. Recalling how Panettiere had appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show as a child, O’Donnell praised the late actress for her openness regarding mental health.
“She was on my show many times as a little girl, and I got to know her as a grown woman. And she was so brave talking about mental health before people were really ready to hear about it, and very sad. My love to her family and friends, and she will be missed. Godspeed, Hayden.”
Rosie O’Donnell, Guest Host
As O’Donnell continues her four-night residency filling in for Kimmel—part of a summer rotation featuring guest hosts like Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, and Jelly Roll—viewers and media analysts are watching to see whether her opening-night restraint regarding direct political attacks will hold through the remainder of the week.
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