Conservative talk show host Megyn Kelly took a shot at Rosie O’Donnell on Monday, after Jimmy Kimmel announced that she will be one of the temporary guest hosts filling in for him while he’s on summer vacation.
“So, MAGA gave her herpes, and now she’s guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel. Note to the guests: don’t get too close, do not do the hello kiss when you arrive on stage,” Kelly said on her show, referring to O’Donnell opening up about her cold sore in 2024.
Kimmel signed off for summer vacation on Thursday, announcing that a slew of guests, including O’Donnell, will host his show. Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, as well as summer regular Anthony Anderson, and Jelly Roll will fill in for Kimmel until his return.
“As a special treat for our commander in chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming,” he said. “You’re welcome. And all I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
Kelly mocked Kimmel’s slate of guest hosts she called “a litany of left-wing comedians.”
“Jimmy Kimmel is going on a two-month sabbatical, and guess who he has sub-hosting for him? It’s a litany of left-wing comedians, most of whom you don’t know very well, because he’s worried about his job security. So he’s got to find people who are lesser than he is,” Kelly said.
She went on to tease O’Donnell’s appearance scheduled for Aug. 17, with a recent clip of the comedian interviewing Jim Acosta, where she said, “I think Kamala won. I do. And I think that we’re going to find all this out.”
Kelly quipped, “I was told by some reliable sources that election denialism is wrong and basically makes you an insurrectionist or a supporter.”
She then questioned whether O’Donnell will be “offering bits like this. Speculative questioning” to Kimmel’s “ever dwindling” audience.
O’Donnell, a longtime vocal critic of Donald Trump and his MAGA base, has feuded with the president for years, recently calling him “an asshole and a liar” earlier this month, outside the Tony Awards.
In addition to Trump, O’Donnell has also blasted Kelly online in 2018, calling her a “spineless wanna be barbie” after the conservative host targeted Jane Fonda over her anti-Vietnam War activism.