Rosie O'Donnell's Surprise Return: Why Jimmy Kimmel's Choice Has Everyone Talking

Jimmy Kimmel announced comedian Rosie O’Donnell will be temporarily taking over his late-night show as he steps back for a two-month sabbatical.

“I will be taking the next two months off, this time voluntarily,” Kimmel said on Thursday night’s episode, jokingly referring to the brief period his show was pulled by ABC over his comments regarding Charlie Kirk’s death in September.

But, the show will still go on as he named the “potent group of” guest hosts which includes Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson and Jelly Roll.

“And… I asked one of our commander-in-chief’s all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming,” he shared, prompting a roar of applause from the audience.

O’Donnell is one several celebrities who left the states following Donald Trump’s second election win. Along with her youngest child, Clay, 13, they settled down in Ireland.

“The View” alum and Trump have long had beef between each other. Though, it appears their feud reached its peak in July 2025 when the president threatened to take away the actress’s US citizenship.

“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” he wrote in his Truth Social post at the time.

He continued: “She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA.”

O’Donnell hit back at Trump with an equally heated Instagram post.

“The president of the usa has always hated the fact that i see him for who he is – a criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation to serve himself – this is why i moved to ireland,” she captioned her post.

Since her citizenship appears to remain intact, it looks like O’Donnell will be returning to the US for an extended stay.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’s made the trip back home. In February, she revealed she quietly returned to the US to visit her family.

“I recently went home for two weeks and I did not really tell anyone. I just went to see my family,” the comedian recently told Chris Cuomo during an appearance on “SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings.”

“I wanted to see how hard it would be for me to get in and out of the country,” she added. “I wanted to feel what it felt like. I wanted to hold my children again. And I hadn’t been home in over a year.”

She also appeared on “Watch What Happens Live,” which films in New York City, earlier this week.