Ellen DeGeneres Plans to ‘Hate-Watch’ Rival Rosie O’Donnell Guest-Host ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell‘s rivalry dates back decades, a source tells the National Enquirer, and there’s no real chance of peace between the former talk show hosts no matter how much common ground and mutual friends they share.

“It’s a fair argument that Ellen flat-out stole Rosie’s act, at least when it comes to mounting a feel-good daytime talk show aimed squarely at stay-at-home moms,” says the source. “Rosie’s show that started in the 90s did it first, and Ellen just refined that formula slightly.”

DeGeneres, 68, won a whopping 33 Daytime Emmy Awards before her eponymous show came to an end in 2022 amid a wave of toxic workplace allegations — and as the Enquirer previously reported, an insider claims the comedian’s had to face the “harsh reality” that there may be no rebuilding her career.

Meanwhile, O’Donnell, 64, is getting ready to guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a week starting on Monday, August 17. “Rosie getting a high-profile network late-night spot in 2026 was not on Ellen’s bingo card and Ellen has to know that [she] isn’t going to blow this opportunity,” says the source.

DeGeneres does have a new project in the works, voicing Dory in a new short film set in the Finding Nemo universe, Deadline announced in April. “But for now, she’s just going to sit on her hands and watch Rosie get re-discovered,” admits the source.

After all, “Jimmy Kimmel put Rosie in this position because he knows she can deliver the goods and get people to tune in who wouldn’t do so otherwise,” the source explains. “And Ellen is going to be one of those people, even if she’s only putting on the show to hate-watch it!”