Rosie O’Donnell fired back at the White House after it branded her a “total slob” over her guest-hosting stint on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The 64-year-old comedian posted a photo of Donald Trump to Instagram on Sunday, August 23, alongside a pointed response to White House spokesperson Davis Ingle’s attack. O’Donnell, who had just completed a four-night guest-hosting run on the ABC late-night show, shared a photograph of the president and wrote: “This is the guy calling me a slob #mirrormirror.”
Ingle had lashed out at O’Donnell on August 20, saying: “a nasty woman and a total slob whose brain has been completely destroyed by Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The White House criticism came after O’Donnell’s Wednesday monologue, where she mocked Trump’s conduct and appearance while discussing his administration.
During that segment, O’Donnell referred to Trump as “President Petty Roosevelt” and told him to “hang up your wig” and allow White House aide Natalie Harp to “tuck you in.” She also deployed nicknames including “Mango Mussolini” and “Oompa J. Loompa” while addressing the president.
The comedian’s jokes eventually turned musical when she performed a parody of a century-old Irish folk song, directing its lyrics at Trump. “Poor Donnie boy, your polls, your polls are falling. Your reflecting pool is green as Mountain Dew. Your wig’s a mess, your ballroom is appalling,” she sang. The performance referenced Trump’s poll numbers and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
O’Donnell’s guest-hosting marked her return to hosting a talk show format, with appearances by Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz and Anthony Anderson during her August run. She wrapped her duties on Thursday, August 20, while regular host Jimmy Kimmel continued his summer break.
In the viral moment that defined their long-running conflict, Trump mentioned O’Donnell during the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner on July 24, calling her “a sick young woman, sick older woman, I guess now I have to say.” The comedian and the president have been publicly feuding since the mid-2000s, with Trump continuing to reference her years after their initial clashes.
O’Donnell discussed their unusual history in her July PEOPLE cover story, describing the fact that their long-running dispute eventually involved Trump becoming president as “very trippy,” She added: “If you had written this as a movie, a stand-up comic makes fun of a reality show host, and he ends up being the president, and then he doesn’t shut up about her for 20 years, it would be unbelievable.”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.