Jimmy Kimmel is taking the summer off—and leaving Donald Trump with a parting gift.
On Thursday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel revealed that Rosie O’Donnell will join the previously announced roster of Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Tiffany Haddish, and Jelly Roll.
“I will be taking the next two months off, this time voluntarily,” Kimmel told viewers. “We have assembled a potent group of hosts to fill in for me beginning with Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll 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.”
“You’re welcome,” Kimmel added. “And all I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
O’Donnell’s addition gives Kimmel’s summer lineup a particularly Trump-adjacent twist. The comic actress has been one of Trump’s longest-running public sparring partners, with their feud dating back nearly two decades.
The bad blood began in 2006, when O’Donnell criticized Trump on The View over his handling of the Miss USA pageant. Trump responded by attacking O’Donnell in the press, launching what would become one of his most enduring celebrity grudges.
The feud followed Trump into politics. During a 2015 Republican primary debate, when Megyn Kelly asked Trump about his history of referring to women in derogatory terms, Trump cut in with: “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her youngest child following Trump’s reelection, citing concerns about the direction of the country and policies affecting the trans community. Trump responded by publicly floating the idea of revoking O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship—a threat legal experts quickly noted he has no power to carry out against a native-born American citizen.
As LateNighter reported earlier Thursday, the rest of this year’s guest-host lineup includes two first-time Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest hosts: Domingo and Barinholtz. Anderson, Haddish, and Jelly Roll have all filled in for Kimmel before. Anderson remains Kimmel’s most frequent guest host, having hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! 24 times to date.
The show has not yet announced dates for O’Donnell’s guest hosting stint.
2026 will mark the fifth summer Kimmel has taken off from the show, a break he first began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“There’s nothing wrong, I’m healthy, my family’s healthy,” he said at the time. “I just need a couple of months off.”
Kimmel continued the tradition in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025. His 2023 summer break coincided with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which shut down late-night production.
Kimmel’s last night behind the desk before his summer break was Thursday. The show is set to go dark for two weeks before returning with guest hosts in July. Kimmel is expected to return to his 11:35 p.m. post the day after Labor Day.
Watch Kimmel announce O’Donnell’s guest hosting stint below:
As much as I, and anyone who misses The Late Show, would luv to see Colbert guest host for a week, recruiting Rosie to keep picking scabs on the President makes SO MUCH SENSE and the perfect shake-up to the guest host roster~
She’s already had a talk show in her resume and I’m sure she has much, MUCH more to say about the President and his sycophants~ Gud on ya, Kimmel and co.~
Thank u for the parting gift and enjoy the well-deserved vacation~
Tho I’m still leaning for Colbert to take Kimmel’s suggestion to guest host~🥺