ALBAWABA - Jimmy Kimmel announced a summer break and surprising guest hosts.
Comedian and outspoken opponent of Donald Trump Rosie O'Donnell will be one of several guest hosts to fill in for late-night anchor Jimmy Kimmel, who will take a two-month hiatus from hosting his own ABC program.
“I hope you’re paying attention this summer, because I will be taking the next two months off—this time voluntarily,” he said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday evening, joking about his suspension last year for his comments about reactions to conservator commentator Charlie Kirk’s death.
According to an ABC press release, guest hosts will begin the week of July 6 with Tiffany Haddish, followed by Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, and Jelly Roll.
“And as a special treat for our commander in chief, I asked one of his all-time favourites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming,” Kimmel said. “You’re welcome, and all I ask in return, Mr President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
After the host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" criticised certain Republicans for their reaction to Kirk's death on September 15 of last year, the show was taken off the air for over a week.
Prominent Republicans quickly denounced the comments, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to take regulatory action. Along with protests outside the ABC headquarters in New York and the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, the removal of the show also provoked concern among viewers regarding free speech and expression.
On September 23, Kimmel made a comeback to the air, addressing the suspension with obvious emotion.
“You understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said, referring to Kirk. "It doesn't seem funny to me."
Over 6 million people watched that program in total. Kimmel also defended free speech in his return monologue.
“This show is not important,” Kimmel said. “What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”
