Rosie O'Donnell told Kara Swisher on Monday, August 4th, 2026, that she is not worried about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ahead of her guest hosting stint on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" later this month.

O'Donnell discussed her plans for appearing on the show during Swisher's podcast. The conversation touched on her ongoing feud with former President Donald Trump and whether his administration might target the broadcast. Swisher asked if O'Donnell was concerned about the FCC under Brendan Carr "coming after you on the show, for example, doing anything?" O'Donnell dismissed the threat, responding, "No. What are they going to say? That you can't say that?" and continued to downplay Carr and the FCC as a threat.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr previously threatened "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2025 after Kimmel made controversial remarks regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Following this, media companies such as Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group vowed to ban the show on their stations. In response, Disney, ABC's parent company, announced it would preempt the show "indefinitely," though it returned to air one week later.

Other guest hosts scheduled for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" include Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, and Jelly Roll.

Sources