Kimmel’s Epstein Takedown With O’Donnell Cameo Ignites Trump’s Epic Feud Revival, Exploding Into Online Fury

By James Poniewozik and Michael M. Grynbaum Washington — Dec. 2, 2025

President Donald J. Trump’s decades-long vendetta with Rosie O’Donnell roared back to life on Monday night, as he unleashed a torrent of Truth Social invective against the comedian and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after their tag-team on-air evisceration of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein during “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The 10-minute segment — Kimmel’s forensic unpacking of the financier’s flight logs laced with O’Donnell’s signature Bronx-inflected barbs calling Mr. Trump a “serial groper with a guest list from hell” — has detonated into a full-blown Hollywood-Washington scandal, exploding online with 6.2 million #TrumpRoast mentions on X by Tuesday morning. With FCC Chairman Brendan Carr vowing a “swift review” of ABC’s broadcast standards, the chaotic live-TV showdown has rallied celebrities against perceived censorship while fracturing G.O.P. ranks, as moderates decry the optics amid midterm jitters and Mr. Trump’s approval among women plummeting to 35 percent in a fresh Gallup snapshot.

The eruption traced to Kimmel’s post-Thanksgiving monologue, a high-wire act timed days before the Dec. 20 unsealing of Epstein’s files under a bipartisan congressional mandate that overrode Mr. Trump’s veto threats. “Congress says release ’em, Trump signs like it’s a prenup he regrets — and suddenly those seven Lolita Express jaunts look less like networking and more like a subpoena playlist,” Kimmel said, his delivery a mix of sardonic sigh and scalpel precision. He projected logs documenting Mr. Trump’s 1990s flights with Epstein, a 2002 New York magazine quote hailing the “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women… many of them on the younger side,” and grainy Mar-a-Lago snapshots of the pair glad-handing amid gold chandeliers. “What did Don know, and when did he know it? Watergate had a gap; this has a jet stream.” The bit, building on Kimmel’s September suspension over unrelated Epstein jabs that drew FCC heat, teetered on the edge of primetime propriety, bleeped twice for emphasis.

Cue O’Donnell, 63, whose 19-year blood feud with Mr. Trump — ignited in 2006 when she mocked his Miss USA pageant meltdown on “The View” as “snake-oil salesmanship” — has become pop culture lore. Linking in from her self-exile in Ireland (a 2025 relocation she tied to Mr. Trump’s inauguration-era threats to “deport losers like Rosie”), the comedian didn’t mince words. “Jimmy, you’re the nice guy — I’ll be the wrecking ball: Trump wasn’t Epstein’s wingman; he was the hype man turning red flags into red carpets,” she growled, her trademark rasp crackling over the feed. Reviving their epic clashes — from Mr. Trump’s “fat pig” slurs to her 2015 debate-night “only Rosie O’Donnell” deflection — O’Donnell landed haymakers: “19 years of his bile, and he’s still renting space in my head? Files drop, Don, and poof: Your tower’s not the only thing crumbling. Exposed live? That’s not TV; that’s truth serum.” The studio howled, and the unedited clip, posted to YouTube, surged to 16 million views overnight, spawning TikTok duets syncing her zingers to Mr. Trump’s 2016 “grab ’em” tape.

Mr. Trump’s meltdown commenced at 1:12 a.m., a 750-word Truth Social broadside viewed 45 million times: “Kimmel the TALENTLESS HACK and Rosie the DISGUSTING, FAT LOSER — two irrelevant has-beens EXPOSING ZIP but their DESPERATE HATRED for WINNING! Fake Epstein SCAM on CROOKED ABC — FCC, AX THIS TRASH IMMEDIATELY! Rosie hid in Ireland like the COWARD she is; come home, PIG, and face REAL America! Quiet, piggy — or get the boot!” The salvo, dredging their ancient animus — including Mr. Trump’s 2015 lawsuit threats and O’Donnell’s 2021 “prayers for prison” — fused it with Epstein dread, reposting memes of the duo as “deep state divas” fleeing subpoenas. At Mar-a-Lago, the holiday hush shattered: Mr. Trump, winding down a donor soiree, reportedly hurled a champagne flute, hollering for FCC chief Brendan Carr’s ear. “He’s possessed — Rosie’s his kryptonite, Kimmel’s the match,” a rattled aide leaked anonymously. By sunrise, the White House had volleyed a 30-page FCC dossier at ABC, flagging “slanderous obscenity,” while Mr. Trump amplified #DeportRosieNow, a hashtag exploding with 1.4 million posts blending deportation jokes and clips from O’Donnell’s 2007 “View” takedown.

The online inferno has engulfed platforms from X to Instagram, fracturing into meme wars and manifestos. #QuietPiggy — Kimmel’s pilfered Trump barb from a Bloomberg dust-up — ballooned to 3.8 million mentions, remixing O’Donnell’s rant over Mr. Trump’s “only Rosie” debate clip. O’Donnell, firing from her Irish aerie, dropped a Substack screed titled “Rent-Free Encore,” musing: “19 years of his venom, one monologue of mine — and he’s still the punchline. Files gonna file, Don; your move.” Her essay, laced with 1993 wedding-invite shade (Mr. Trump snubbed her RSVP), hit 2.1 million reads, inspiring #RosieRevenge threads from fans syncing it to “The View” archives. Hollywood surged to the barricades: A “Laugh Free or Die” petition, inked by 500 boldfaces from Bette Midler to Pedro Pascal, slammed the FCC as “Trump’s gag order,” while Damon Lindelof vowed a Disney boycott “until Kimmel’s mic is safe.”

The live-TV maelstrom amplifies Mr. Trump’s late-night siege, a second-term escalation from first-term gripes. Kimmel’s September suspension — over Charlie Kirk assassination zingers that irked FCC affiliates — endured a week amid boycotts, but this O’Donnell crossover, weaving their feud into Epstein’s web, cuts visceral: Logs hint at Mar-a-Lago overlaps, per unsealed previews. Carr’s Tuesday probe, eyeing ABC’s “public trust,” mirrors July’s Colbert cull and October’s Meyers timeout. “Weaponized whimsy,” quipped Iger in a fiery all-staff email, as Disney dipped 9 percent on Nexstar threats. Late-night kin amplified the anarchy: Seth Meyers on NBC: “Trump vs. Rosie? That’s not beef; that’s a blood feud with better hair.” Stephen Colbert, pod-only post-CBS boot, video-toasted: “Exposed duo? Trump’s allergic to spotlights — unless they’re his.” Jimmy Fallon closer: “O’Donnell and Kimmel tag-teamed him? Even Matt Damon’s jealous.”

Capitol Hill devolved into trench warfare. Democrats, spearheaded by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., unveiled a “Punchline Protection” bill co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., torching the FCC as “Trump’s insult squad.” Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., summoned Carr for Dec. 15 grillings, subpoenaing Kimmel docs. G.O.P. schisms widened: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., deemed the threats “chilling precedents,” while Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., equivocated on Fox: “Rosie’s roastable, but FCC fire? Midterms first, mayhem later.” A Siena bipartisan survey pegged 65 percent seeing “power abuse,” independents bolting Mr. Trump by 11 points.

For Kimmel and O’Donnell, the scandal’s a phoenix flight. Kimmel’s viewership vaulted 35 percent to 3.6 million, his May contract looming amid renewal buzz. O’Donnell, whose Ireland jaunt dodged Mr. Trump’s “deport the diva” taunts, spun it on her newsletter as “feud finale — 19 years to one viral vent.” Perils persist: FRC boycotts target $16 million in spots; Carr’s inquest may ripple to NBC, CBS.

Mr. Trump’s TV tango — reality mogul morphing regulator, O’Donnell his eternal nemesis (from 2006 pageant potshots to 2015 lawsuit lunges) — spotlights frailty. Historians nod to Nixon’s press peril, algorithm-amped. “Kimmel and Rosie didn’t unearth files — they unearthed the emperor’s ego,” mused Purdue’s Kathryn Cramer Brownell. Online, the blaze rages: MAGA mocks O’Donnell “deported” clash viral “View” edits synced to Mr. Trump’s “grab” tape.

Tuesday broke with Mr. Trump teeing off through turmoil, posting: “Rosie relic — ‘View’ was her zenith! Kimmel’s kaput.” Yet files loom, midterms nine months hence: One frenzied expose isn’t scandal — it’s supernova, Hollywood’s blaze torching Washington’s wick.