MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Let's stay with the lawsuit from Disney and ABC, and note that it comes while Jimmy Kimmel, himself, is on summer vacation, and a big Trump critic is filling in for him.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Rosie, Rosie, Rosie.
KELLY: They're chanting, Rosie. Rosie O'Donnell's first show as guest host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was last night. When Kimmel announced her hosting gig, he called it a special treat for the commander in chief who has traded barbs with O'Donnell in the past. And last night, she referenced the hostility in her opening monologue.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
ROSIE O'DONNELL: And if you thought the president hated "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel...
(LAUGHTER)
O'DONNELL: ...Buckle up, people. Buckle up.
KELLY: NPR critic at large Eric Deggans is here to talk about it. Hey there.
ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Hey. A little bit more fun than talking about a lawsuit (laughter).
KELLY: Indeed. Did she have fun? How'd she do? This was her first time hosting in a few years.
DEGGANS: Yeah. I thought she did a fine job. I mean, she was a little stiff at the start of her opening monologue, but she kind of loosened up as she went along. And as she noted, last night, she comes with a lot of experience. I mean, she hosted her own successful syndicated talk show from 1996 to 2002. She was also a cohost of the daytime talk show "The View" and even had a talk show on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network. Now, last night's monologue mostly featured anecdotes about her life in Ireland, where she moved a few years ago, but she had a joke about politics ready, too. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
O'DONNELL: I haven't sat behind a desk on TV in almost 30 years, and a lot has changed since the '90s. There was a war in the Middle East. Climate change was ravaging our planet. We had a president who was embroiled in scandals.
(LAUGHTER)
O'DONNELL: But today, everything is so chill.
KELLY: Everything old is new again, Eric.
DEGGANS: (Laughter).
KELLY: We know Trump has called for Jimmy Kimmel's show to be canceled. That's been headlines. Where does the feud with O'Donnell fit in?
DEGGANS: Well, their friction goes way back to 2006, way before his first run at the presidency. I mean, O'Donnell criticized him on "The View" for talking about the morals of a Miss USA winner despite his own controversial personal life. And in the years since then, Trump has made disparaging comments about her looks and her weight. He referenced her in a presidential debate in 2015. And O'Donnell has said those insults felt like nationally sanctioned bullying. And last year, O'Donnell revealed that she moved to Ireland after Trump won the presidency a second time, and the president posted on social media about trying to revoke her U.S. citizenship.
So ironically, now, even though their conflict has led to a lot of folks, including us, paying attention to her talk show appearances, O'Donnell didn't really say his name during her monologue last night, and she didn't reference him that much, although she did call him, quote, "Mango Mussolini."
KELLY: OK. A question on the timing. I can't help but notice that this Disney FCC lawsuit coincides exactly with this hosting gig. What's the takeaway there?
DEGGANS: I don't think the two things have much to do with each other. I mean, media experts have always expected that Disney would win in court if the FCC actually tried to take action against them. And with this lawsuit, I think Disney's just asking the court to protect them in advance, citing the First Amendment. But with O'Donnell, earlier this year, when people began guessing who might guest host for Jimmy Kimmel during his regular vacation, I mean, the first names to come up were CBS host Stephen Colbert and O'Donnell. I mean, they're probably the only people on TV whose conflicts with Trump rival Kimmel's issues.
Colbert hasn't shown that he has a lot of interest in returning to late night since his show was canceled in May. But O'Donnell has said she's open to visiting "The View" during its 30th season, and she's doing this stint on "Kimmel." It was interesting to see she didn't talk about Trump that much last night. We'll see if that approach continues as she guest hosts through the rest of the week.
KELLY: That's our critic at large Eric Deggans. Eric, I do think your beat is more fun than the rest of ours combined. Thanks for coming and telling us about it.
DEGGANS: Got to love it. I certainly love it. Thanks a lot.
KELLY: (Laughter) Eric Deggans.
(SOUNDBITE OF FLOWERING INFERNO AND QUANTIC'S "WESTBOUND TRAIN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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