NEWSRosie O’Donnell Shuts Down Jimmy Kimmel Takeover Rumor But Teases Daytime TV Comeback
Rosie O’Donnell denied rumors that she wanted Jimmy Kimmel’s job.
Aug. 12 2026, Published 7:47 a.m. ET
Rosie O’Donnell is not trying to take Jimmy Kimmel’s job, but she may be open to a different kind of TV comeback.
O’Donnell, who is scheduled to guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live! the week of August 17, addressed a reporter’s inquiry claiming she might be trying to secure Kimmel’s late-night slot behind his back. Rather than let the rumor linger, she posted her response on Instagram.
The answer was blunt.
‘Completely Untrue’
The comedian denied the rumor and said she planned to leave for Ireland after her guest-hosting week.
“Ha funny – and completely untrue,” O’Donnell wrote in the email exchange she shared.
She said she plans to leave for Ireland as soon as her guest-hosting week ends, where her child is starting eighth grade.
“I’m not interested in doing late night,” she continued. “Daytime however would be interesting.”
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Rosie O’Donnell prepared to guest-host ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ during Jimmy Kimmel’s hiatus.
The clarification comes before what will be O’Donnell’s first time hosting late night. Kimmel is currently on summer hiatus, with guest hosts filling in across the break. Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo and others have already been part of the lineup.
Kimmel announced O’Donnell’s guest stint in June, calling it “a special treat for our commander in chief” and promising that one of President Donald Trump’s longest-running celebrity antagonists would be there “to keep the hits coming.”
A Daytime Door Cracks Open
Rosie O’Donnell hinted that a daytime TV return could interest her.
O’Donnell’s daytime credentials are much deeper than her late-night résumé. The Rosie O’Donnell Show ran from 1996 to 2002, and she later served two stints as a moderator on The View, first in 2006 and 2007 and again briefly in 2014. She also hosted The Rosie Show on OWN in 2012.
Her “daytime” comment quickly drew excitement from fans. One commenter wrote, “I think I speak for millennials everywhere when I say please bring The Rosie O’Donnell show back so we can feel alive again.”
Old Late-Night Sensitivities
Her television career previously included ‘The Rosie O’Donnell Show’ and ‘The View.’
O’Donnell may have reason to shut down late-night takeover chatter quickly. She has previously said her relationship with David Letterman’s Late Show team became strained after she offered to guest-host when Letterman underwent emergency quintuple bypass surgery in 2000.
According to O’Donnell, the offer was wrongly interpreted as an attempt to take advantage of his illness. O’Donnell eventually returned to Letterman’s Late Show as a guest in 2006 and 2014.
