Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has tapped long-time Trump rival Rosie O’Donnell to host his ABC show in his stead as he takes a two-month break.
When announcing his break, Kimmel cheekily referenced his brief suspension last year for comments he made in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“I hope you’re paying attention this summer, because I will be taking the next two months off — this time voluntarily,” he said.
“And 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,” Kimmel added. “You’re welcome, and all I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
Also hosting in his stead will be Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo and Jelly Roll
Rosie O’Donnell has been a heated and active ongoing feud with President Trump for over 20 years now, something that she claims has been a source of great mental anguish for her.
“I was very, very depressed. I was overeating. I was overdrinking,” O’Donnell told Chris Cuomo regarding Trump’s presidency last year. “It hurt my heart that America believed the lies about him. And then it broke my heart to be in a business that creates and sells those lies for profit.”
O’Donnell said she only decided to leave the country in fear for her mental health, calling it an act of “self-preservation,” adding that she chose Ireland for having a different culture for celebrity and fame.
“When I got here, I noticed right away there was a different culture about celebrity. They’re not lauded in Ireland. They’re not thought of as better than anyone else,” she said. “Coming home here felt like coming home.”
Her brother later said that leaving the United States was the best decision she ever made.