Ellen DeGeneres is reportedly keeping a close eye on Rosie O’Donnell’s renewed success after the former daytime rival scored an impressive return to late-night television.
RadarOnline reported that people around DeGeneres believe O’Donnell’s recent guest-hosting stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live! has gotten Ellen’s attention, with one unnamed source claiming DeGeneres is less than thrilled to see Rosie generating positive headlines again.
There is no public evidence that DeGeneres herself has made any negative comments about O’Donnell’s comeback, however, and the jealousy angle remains an unverified insider claim.
What can be confirmed is that O’Donnell’s return behind a talk-show desk performed extremely well.
Her first night filling in for Jimmy Kimmel on Aug. 17 drew approximately 1.87 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen figures reported by LateNighter. That made her the highest-rated Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host of the summer at that point.
The numbers became even stronger when delayed viewing was included.
Across O’Donnell’s guest-hosting week, Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged about 2.17 million viewers in Nielsen Live+3 data, a 40 percent jump from the previous guest-host week. O’Donnell’s stint also averaged 237,000 viewers among adults ages 18 to 49.
That performance has helped put the 64-year-old comedian and former daytime host firmly back in the entertainment conversation.
O’Donnell is also headed back to Broadway. The official website for The Rocky Horror Show confirms that she will temporarily take over the role of the Narrator at Studio 54 from Oct. 6 through Oct. 18.
The Broadway booking gives O’Donnell another high-profile project shortly after her Kimmel run and adds substance to reports that Hollywood interest in her may be growing.
Radar claimed entertainment insiders believe O’Donnell could eventually land another talk-oriented project on television or with an audio company such as SiriusXM or Spotify. As of now, however, no such deal has been publicly announced.
DeGeneres, meanwhile, has largely remained outside the traditional talk-show world since The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended in May 2022 after 19 seasons.
Her exit followed a turbulent period for the program after former employees made allegations about a toxic workplace culture. Three senior producers ultimately left the show, and DeGeneres apologized on air for problems that occurred behind the scenes.
DeGeneres maintained that the controversy was not the reason she decided to end the show, saying instead that she wanted a new creative challenge.
She later returned to stand-up with her 2024 Netflix special Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, which Netflix billed as the final comedy special of her career. The special addressed her public fall from grace and life after daytime television.
Her next confirmed entertainment project appears to be considerably different.
Pixar has reportedly begun work on a short film set in the Finding Nemo universe, with DeGeneres expected to reprise her famous role as Dory. Contrary to some reports describing the project as a 2028 movie, the publicly reported project is currently a short film, and detailed release information has not yet been announced.
Radar’s source claimed DeGeneres has no interest in launching a stripped-down podcast or similar talk format and suggested she may wait for a larger entertainment opportunity before making another major push into the spotlight.
Whether O’Donnell’s latest success actually affects those plans is impossible to know.
For now, the measurable comeback belongs to Rosie.
After years away from the daily talk-show circuit, O’Donnell returned to a familiar format and delivered some of Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s strongest guest-host numbers of the summer. With a Broadway appearance already lined up, her latest television turn appears to have opened the door to more opportunities rather than serving as a one-off return.