Rosie O’Donnell Is Reviving Her Beloved Talk Show Online This Weekend

From 1996 to 2002, Rosie O’Donnell was the darling of the daytime talk landscape. Now, amid the unprecedented novel coronavirus COVID-19 in 2020, Rosie is bring back “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” — and it’s happening this weekend!

The star-studded event will be streaming online this Sunday as a special to raise money for The Actors Fund, according to Deadline. Produced in conjunction with Broadway.com, where fans will be able to watch starting at 7 p.m. ET, the show will act as both a talk show and fundraiser.

For six seasons, Rosie was one of America’s most beloved celebrities, though she has since become a more polarizing figure. She unabashedly crushed on celebrities, and was considered one of the sweetest celebrities. The comedian has become much more publicly opinionated since those days, as evidenced by her two short stints with “The View,” becoming a more polarizing figure.

Nevertheless, this is a charity-driven event to raise funds for the entertainment community, which has been hit extremely hard by social distancing, with almost all television and film productions shut down or delayed, Broadway shuttered and even movie theaters going dark across the nation as Americans are urged to stay in their homes.

In line with the new normal of social-isolation entertainment, Rosie’s guests will be signing in from home as she embraces technology to conduct interviews and welcome performers from the safe distance of a screen.

Matthew Broderick, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Gloria Estefan, Billy Porter, Morgan Freeman and more are expected to participate, including Rosie’s original bandleader John McDaniel.

“Everybody who knows me knows that Broadway has been one of the brightest lights in my life since the time I was a little girl,” said Rosie in a statement. “It has also been the lifeblood of New York City for generation after generation. After all, Broadway has given to the world, now – in this time of tremendous need – it’s our turn to give something back.”

“Because social distancing is so important right now, this amazing benefit is an incredible show of support to lift spirits, bring us all together virtually and help The Actors Fund help those in need,” added Actors Fund chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell. “Now more than ever, people in our community are depending on The Fund’s vital services.”

The Actors Fund is a “non-profit that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in the arts and entertainment industry,” per TVLine.

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