Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will take a two-month break from hosting his eponymous ABC program, tapping comedian and frequent Donald Trump foe Rosie O\u2019Donnell as one of several guest hosts to fill in during his absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope you\u2019re paying attention this summer, because I will be taking the next two months off \u2014 this time voluntarily,\u201d he said on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d Thursday evening, joking about his suspension last year for his comments about reactions to conservator commentator Charlie Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guest hosts will start the week of July 6, kicking off with Tiffany Haddish, followed by Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo and Jelly Roll, according to an ABC press release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd as a special treat for our commander in chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O\u2019Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cYou\u2019re welcome, and all I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don\u2019t do anything stupid while I\u2019m gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d was pulled from air for nearly a week after his Sept. 15 broadcast, when the host criticized some Republicans for their response to Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remarks drew swift condemnation from prominent Republican figures and prompted FCC Chair Brendan Carr to threaten regulatory action. The show\u2019s removal also sparked viewer outrage over free speech and expression, as well as protests outside Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, and ABC headquarters in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimmel returned to air on Sept. 23, visibly emotional as he addressed the suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,\u201d he said, referring to Kirk. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything funny about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That episode drew more than 6 million total viewers. In his return monologue, Kimmel also offered a defense of free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis show is not important,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cWhat is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n