Rosie O’Donnell Says ABC Blocked Epstein Survivors Segment on Kimmel

Rosie O’Donnell revealed in a recent interview that ABC refused to air a planned segment featuring Jeffrey Epstein survivors during her time as a guest host for Jimmy Kimmel Live! "My idea for the last night was to do the Epstein reveal, and they said that they were certain that could not happen," O’Donnell stated. She then decided to go ahead and create the segment herself, working with advocacy group Survivor Sisters to assemble a group of eight women.

O’Donnell and the survivors filmed the segment in a short two-hour session, capturing the women singing Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman." O’Donnell posted the video to her Instagram, where she expressed her sympathy for the survivors and their bravery in speaking out against child sex abuse. While the reasons for ABC's refusal to air the segment are unknown, O’Donnell mentioned earlier in the interview that her final monologue on Kimmel originally included a monologue about the incident, but it was cut last-minute.

She then opted to simply thank the survivors in her farewell message. O’Donnell believed ABC's decision was influenced by an FCC lawsuit they filed the next day, accusing the agency of violating its First Amendment rights and retaliating against the network.