Rosie O'Donnell has been feuding with Donald Trump for decades, so when she was tapped to guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live! For four nights starting August 17, the material basically wrote itself. Then ABC told her she couldn't perform it.
Bored Panda reports that O'Donnell claimed the network blocked a parody she had built around the tune of "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz. Rather than throw the routine out, she sang part of it on Kara Swisher's podcast on August 3, where no broadcast standards team was listening.
Key facts
- O'Donnell is set to guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live! For four nights beginning August 17.
- She said ABC would not let her perform a parody rewriting "If I Only Had a Brain" as an attack on Trump.
- She performed part of the routine on "On with Kara Swisher" on August 3.
- The parody reportedly jokes about Trump's approval rating, his relationship with Putin, and the condition of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
What was in the song
The parody keeps the Scarecrow's melody but rewrites the lyrics to portray Trump as unintelligent, dishonest, and obsessed with power. Punchlines included a jab at a 30% approval rating and a line about his "diaper" always being dirty. Another line took aim at his anatomy, though that was framed as a joke rather than a serious claim.
The longer version also went after the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Trump's ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, allegations of using public office for personal enrichment, and online chatter about him looking tired during public meetings. It wrapped up by contrasting him unfavorably with former President Barack Obama.
Why ABC said no
O'Donnell told Swisher she was told clearance couldn't be granted because her rewrite contained political content. The restriction, as reported, came down to a licensing snag around the rewritten words — not, apparently, a note from Kimmel himself. ABC has not laid out its reasoning on the record.
O'Donnell's reaction
She made a point of not blaming Kimmel. She praised him as "brave and bold" for keeping up the pressure on Trump through comedy and said she wanted to carry on what he had been doing. The frustration was aimed squarely at the network.
The backstory: a White House correspondents' dinner
O'Donnell said the routine came together after she watched the July 24 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. That event had originally been interrupted in April and was eventually held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C. Trump opened with lighter jokes before sliding into personal attacks on journalists, Democrats, and public critics — O'Donnell among them.
She had already performed the song in her one-woman stage show, Common Knowledge, and dropped a version on TikTok in late July. That post got a huge response, though some critics called the insults childish and a distraction from bigger concerns about the administration.
What it means for you
Say you are a casual late-night viewer and you tune in for one of the August 17 episodes. Expect Trump material — O'Donnell isn't shy — but expect it dialed back from the karaoke-on-podcast version. The Swisher taping is where the rawest jokes live, and it's also where ABC's leash was shortest.
Our take
The funniest part of this story is the workaround. ABC said no, so she walked one building over and did it on a podcast with no broadcast standards team hovering. That's not a scandal. That's just how comedy operates in 2025: when the network door closes, the podcast mic is usually open.
The deeper question is whether political parody is genuinely getting harder to license, or whether this is the kind of "no" that's easier to issue than to defend. The licensing explanation is plausible. It also happens to be very convenient.
What to watch next
Keep an eye on the actual air dates. If O'Donnell keeps the parody mostly intact, the network will have to decide what to do about it in real time. Either way, the Swisher episode is the version that'll keep circulating online. The jokes already escaped — ABC just made sure more people showed up to hear them.
Key takeaways
- ABC blocked an "If I Only Had a Brain" parody O'Donnell planned for her August 17 guest-host run on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- She performed it instead on Kara Swisher's podcast on August 3.
- Reports framed the issue as a licensing problem with the rewritten lyrics, not a call from Kimmel.
- O'Donnell praised Kimmel and blamed the network.
Frequently asked questions
Why did ABC block the parody?
O'Donnell said she was told clearance couldn't be granted because her version contained political material. Reports described it as a licensing snag.
Where did she perform it instead?
She sang part of it on "On with Kara Swisher" on August 3.
When does she guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live!?
Four nights starting August 17, according to Bored Panda.
Did she blame Jimmy Kimmel for the ban?
No. She called him "brave and bold" and said she wanted to honor his work.
Inspired by reporting from: boredpanda.com