Rosie O'Donnell Reveals Favorite (and Least Favorite) Guests from Her '90s Talk Show Angela AndaloroOctober 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM 285 Frank Micelotta/Getty Rosie O'Donnell hosting "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" in 1996 Rosie O'Donnell appeared on Sam Pang Tonight, where she discussed her days hosting her ...
- - Rosie O'Donnell Reveals Favorite (and Least Favorite) Guests from Her '90s Talk Show
Angela AndaloroOctober 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM
285
Frank Micelotta/Getty
Rosie O'Donnell hosting "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" in 1996 -
Rosie O'Donnell appeared on Sam Pang Tonight, where she discussed her days hosting her daytime talk show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show aired for 6 seasons from 1996 through 2002
O'Donnell shared which stars were her favorite to host and who was a surprising challenge
Rosie O'Donnell is opening up about her experience on her talk show.
The Rosie O'Donnell Show aired for 6 seasons from 1996 through 2002. In that time, the actress turned host, 63, interviewed countless Hollywood figures. During her Wednesday, Oct. 15, appearance on Sam Pang Tonight, she spoke about her favorite and least favorite guests during her daytime tenure.
"Favorite? Probably Barbra Streisand. But the best guest to have on, and you should book him, is Marty Short because you come out and say, 'How you doing, Marty?' And it's over for you. And he stands up and he goes, 'I'm here.' He was the funniest and the nicest guy."
When it came to the worst, she responded with a surprisingly beloved celebrity. "I love the guy, but he's not good on talk shows. Keanu Reeves," she shared.
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Keanu Reeves in 1997
"He's so sweet. He looks gorgeous. I love all his movies, but he would not answer a question. I'd say, 'So, Keanu, how's it going? How you feeling?' [He'd say] 'Good.' "
"And finally, after like eight minutes, we were live. We didn't, couldn't retape. I finally said, after like three minutes, 'Keanu, it is a talk show. You have to talk.' But he did come back and he got the hang of it."
Footage from the episode available online shows O'Donnell switch her approach after asking Reeves, "You don't do a lot of these shows do you? Do you hate them?" to which he honestly replied, "I'm not comfortable with them, but they're fun. It's alright." The host then offered him a snack or toy.
In Keanu's defense, she added, "He's a lovely man and a good-hearted guy, so I don't want to throw him under the bus."
"I could have said Tom Selleck, which would have been easy to do," she added, recalling how "very awkward" that exchange was "because I had never been unkind or controversial."
"But Columbine had just happened. It was 1999 and he had an ad in the magazines that said, 'I am the NRA,' " she explained, noting she disagreed with the stance and challenged it in their conversation.
"I was so torn up about Columbine that I just didn't give up. And then, like an innocent idiot, I walked off stage and said to my staff, 'Do you think that'll get any press?' " she continued, adding, "Well, it's hard to switch back to Magnum when that comes up."
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