Rosie O’Donnell Goes Head-To-Head With Carrie Ann Inaba For Julie Chen’s Job

Rosie O’Donnell is a serious contender for The Talk. The former View co-host set a fan straight amid speculation that she would never consider leaving her longtime home on the east coast to become a permanent part of the California-based talk show panel.

After a Twitter follower posted that O’Donnell would “not likely” move from her home on the east coast to Los Angeles in order to tape the daily talk show, O’Donnell chimed in to respond, saying “perhaps I would.”

O’Donnell previously announced to her social media followers that she would be co-hosting The Talk this Friday, telling her fans “don’t miss it!”

But O’Donnell wasn’t the only guest host on Friday’s episode of The Talk. Carrie Ann Inaba — a longtime friend of the CBS chatfest and a contender to fill Aisha Tyler’s chair before Eve was hired as her replacement — also appeared as a guest host in the absence of series regular Sara Gilbert.

Inaba is also a top candidate for Chen’s job, even getting the seal of approval from the departed moderator, who called her “Asian sister” out in her taped goodbye message — telling her that she looked pretty good sitting in her seat. It should be noted that it was Rosie O’Donnell who was seated in Chen’s moderator chair, and not Carrie Ann Inaba, for the dual guest-hosting stint on Friday.

O’Donnell and Inaba’s concurrent guest host showing made it clear that they would bring totally opposite dynamics to The Talk. As Deadline noted, O’Donnell’s hire would make for major headlines, and it would likely produce massive first-day-on-job ratings. But Inaba is a familiar face on The Talk and already has a proven chemistry with permanent panelists Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Eve.

this friday i will be guest hosting with the ladies of @TheTalkCBS – dont miss it !! ?????? pic.twitter.com/TxfbydksqA

— ROSIE (@Rosie) September 26, 2018

Rosie O’Donnell has a proven track record as a talk show host, albeit an abbreviated one with ABC. After a successful self-titled daytime show that ran from 1996 to 2002, O’Donnell joined The View as longtime moderator Meredith Vieira’s replacement. She left one year later after an acrimonious season that included a nasty on-air fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. O’Donnell returned to The View in 2014 for another short-lived period, citing personal reasons for exiting the show early.

There has been no formal announcement from CBS regarding the timeline to fill Julie Chen’s seat on The Talk, but insiders previously told The Daily Mail that the casting decision should be made by the end of November.

The Talk airs weekdays on CBS.