Rosie O’Donnell reacts to speculation she’ll return to full-time TV hosting in ‘takeover’ of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
O’Donnell publicly responded to a media inquiry about her potential return to television in a permanent capacity.
Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty; Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty
Key Points
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Rosie O’Donnell publicly replied to a request for comment on a report that she’ll return to full-time TV hosting after her guest spot on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
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O’Donnell shared a screenshot of a report indicating that she’ll mount a “takeover” of Kimmel’s show at ABC.
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The comedian and host previously fronted The View and The Rosie O’Donnell Show.
Rosie O’Donnell has publicly addressed speculation indicating that she’s eyeing talk show return in a full-time capacity after her upcoming guest-cohosting stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The 64-year-old former View moderator and iconic Rosie O’Donnell Show host shared what she suggested was an inquiry about an upcoming report that she was secretly mounting a “takeover” of Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show.
“GLOBE is preparing a story reporting that Rosie O’Donnell is eyeing a full-time return to late night after Jimmy Kimmel tapped her to guest host ‘JKL!’ in mid-August, with sources saying she may be willing to go behind his back with ABC executives to make it happen,” read the email O’Donnell shared Monday on Instagram, with the text stating that “ABC bosses are already bracing for the attention her hosting stint will bring” and that O’Donnell wants to “turn a temporary gig into a permanent takeover.”
Rosie O’Donnell reacts to report she’s returning to TV
Credit: Rosie O’ Donnell/Instagram
O’Donnell shared her reply to the email, in which she wrote, “Ha funny – and completely untrue.” However, she teased that, while late night isn’t where she’d like to be, she’s not opposed to a full-time slot at in a different part of the day.
“I leave ireland the day I’m done guest hosting for jimmy – where my child starts the 8 th grade – I’m not interested in doing late night – daytime however would be interesting,” O’Donnell wrote, stressing that she plans to return home to Ireland, where she moved amid longtime foe Donald Trump’s second term as president.7
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to ABC representatives for comment on the emails O’Donnell shared to her account.
Kimmel partnered with O’Donnell for a guest spot on his talk show amid a stretch of major headlines involving Kimmel and O’Donnell’s archnemesis Trump, who heavily criticized Kimmel amid his suspension by ABC over remarks he made about the death of polarizing right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
In addition to her stand-up comedy and acting in movies like Harriet the Spy and A League of Their Own, O’Donnell found mainstream success as a television host on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, which ran from 1996-2002 and earned O’Donnell 11 Daytime Emmy victories.
O’Donnell famously joined The View panel in 2006, and left the following year amid fallout from a major on-air blow-up with conservative panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck that caused a still-standing rift in the pair’s relationship.
Rosie O’Donnell and Elmo on ‘The Rosie O’Donnell Show’
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
The comedian returned to the Hot Topics table in 2014, but left in 2015 after another single-season stint.
In a recent interview with Page Six, O’Donnell said she made the decision to walk away from The Rosie O’Donnell Show when she discovered that she had $100 million in the bank.
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“When I heard that [number], I thought, ‘OK, now I’m done,” O’Donnell said. “And everyone was like, ‘Why are you leaving?'” She also desired more time with her children: “I wanted to be at their softball games. I wanted to be at school plays.”
O’Donnell is set to take over for Kimmel for one week beginning Aug. 17 on ABC.
Fox News Host Steve Doocy Returns to New York City To Rejoin Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade—1 Year After Florida Move
“Fox & Friends” star Steve Doocy has reclaimed his seat on the show’s iconic couch inside the Fox News studio in New York City—more than a year after he stepped down from his role as a full-time host of the show amid his relocation to Florida.
Viewers of the hit morning show were delighted to see Doocy, 69, making an appearance in the Manhattan studio alongside co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, having traveled back to the Big Apple to fill in for Lawrence B. Jones.
However, the on-air personality’s return to New York life is only temporary, according to a post shared on his Facebook account, where he explained to fans that he will only be in the studio for a week, while Jones is enjoying some time off.
“I’m back on the couch a couple days filling in for Lawrence. Always a pleasure seeing Ainsley and Brian and the Studio M Crew,” he wrote, while sharing a photo of himself, Earhardt, and Kilmeade.
Doocy—who is the father of fellow Fox News star Peter Doocy—noted that he will return to regularly scheduled programing from Aug. 3, when he will resume his current role as Coast-to-Coast Host, a position that he took up when he left New York City and his full-time in-studio duties.
“Fox & Friends” star Steve Doocy has reclaimed his seat on the show’s iconic couch inside the Fox News studio in New York City. (Instagram/Steve Doocy)
Viewers of the hit morning show were delighted to see Doocy, 69, making an appearance in the Manhattan studio alongside co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade. (Fox News)
“I’ll be back to my coast to coast hosting next week, faraway from NYC—but this is a nice chance to drop in on HQ to catch up with my pals over an insanely expensive cup of coffee,” he joked.
Since leaving the New York studio—and his longtime New Jersey home—in 2025, Doocy and his wife have been living full time in Florida, where they have owned a property in Jupiter for years.
Records show that the couple purchased a three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom property in the popular enclave for $1 million in 2014—just one month after it was listed.
However, the TV host has also spent ample time traveling across the U.S., visiting numerous areas and celebrities, including Paula Deen, Dave Portnoy, Lara Trump, Tyrese Gibson, and Jason Aldean.
When he stepped down from his full-time role in the Fox News studios, Doocy explained that his unique new position had come about after he phoned the network’s CEO, Suzanne Scott, someone he branded “a friend for over 30 years,” in order to discuss how he might continue working on the show even after leaving the city.
He compared the latest iteration of his job to late night host Johnny Carson, who would spend a few nights a week taping his show at the NBC studios in Burbank, CA, but the rest of his time elsewhere.
“She gave me a great option—to keep working on this show … just not every day. Essentially it’s the Johnny Carson deal. Remember, Johnny worked his three days in Burbank—and I’ll be based in Florida, which means you may never see me in a necktie again,” he joked.
