Megyn Kelly Said Four Words About Rosie O’Donnell Hosting Jimmy Kimmel’s Show That Have Hollywood Fuming

June 25, 2026 Cat2, The Media
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Rosie O'Donnell fled to Ireland after Trump won and spent a year telling podcasts Kamala actually won the election.

Now Jimmy Kimmel is handing her his show.

Megyn Kelly noticed – and what she said has Hollywood fuming.

Kimmel Takes His Two-Month Vacation While America Burns

Jimmy Kimmel announced last Thursday he's taking two months off – voluntarily, this time.

That's his word choice.

The reference is to last September, when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Kimmel suggested Charlie Kirk's assassin was a MAGA supporter during his opening monologue.

Trump called the suspension "Great News for America."

ABC caved under FCC pressure.

Kimmel came back, kept his job, and now he's rewarding himself with a summer away from his audience.

Before leaving, he announced the guest host lineup: Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, Jelly Roll – and Rosie O'Donnell, who will step in beginning August 17.

Kimmel framed O'Donnell's appearance as a gift to Trump himself.

"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 told his audience.

Megyn Kelly Delivered the Line America Was Already Thinking

Megyn Kelly played the clip on her SiriusXM show Monday and did not hold back.

"Jimmy Kimmel's going on vacay for two months," Kelly said. "Do you have a two-month vacay? Probably not. Do you have 30 acres in Martha's Vineyard? Probably not."

Then she turned to the roster.

"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," Kelly said. "So he's got to find people who are lesser than he is – but none more so than the next person I'm going to show you."

That person was O'Donnell.

Kelly aired a recent clip of O'Donnell on former CNN host Jim Acosta's podcast, claiming Trump's 2024 election victory wasn't real.

"I think Kamala won. I do," O'Donnell told Acosta. "And I think that we're going to find all this out. I'm not the first person to say this. There are all these researchers who were saying it. I read it online again today."

Kelly's response landed like a sledgehammer.

"Oh, she read it online, then obviously it's true," Kelly mocked. "I was told by some reliable sources that election denialism is wrong and basically makes you an insurrectionist or a supporter."

For years, Democrats and their media allies screamed that questioning the 2020 election made you a threat to democracy.

O'Donnell just did the same thing about 2024, live on a podcast, offering zero evidence – and she's being rewarded with a network television platform.

The Woman Who Ran From America Is Coming Back to Lecture It

O'Donnell moved to Ireland with her daughter in January 2025, telling TikTok followers she'd return "when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights" in America.

Trump responded to the Irish prime minister's visit to the White House by saying O'Donnell would "lower your happiness levels."

She's since returned to the U.S. for family visits and the 2026 Tony Awards – and now she's returning for two weeks of network television.

Kelly wasn't done.

She pulled up an old O'Donnell Instagram video about a cold sore and said four words that have been bouncing around conservative media ever since.

"MAGA gave her herpes," Kelly said – then added, "Note to the guests, don't get too close. Do not do the hello kiss when you arrive on stage."

The media class will call it crude.

Your grandfather will forward it to everyone in his contacts.

That's the difference between people who understand how America actually feels about Rosie O'Donnell and people who keep booking her on television.

Kimmel spent last fall telling his audience that MAGA supporters politicized Charlie Kirk's murder – then spent this summer handing his microphone to the woman who abandoned the country when Trump won.

The irony writes itself.

Megyn Kelly wrote it better.

Sources:

  • "Megyn Kelly rages over Jimmy Kimmel's temporary replacement in blistering tirade," The Independent, June 23, 2026.
  • "Rosie O'Donnell claims Kamala Harris won 2024 election on Acosta podcast," Fox News, June 19, 2026.
  • "ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel off air over Charlie Kirk comments," CNBC, September 17, 2025.
  • "Jimmy Kimmel taps Rosie O'Donnell as rotating guest host during two-month hiatus," NBC News, June 19, 2026.