Fans may want to see Rosie O’Donnell take a turn on Dancing With the Stars, but she says it’s not happening — at least not yet.
The comedian, 64, shut down speculation with a hilarious Instagram post on Monday, April 13, sharing an AI-generated photo of herself in a sequined gown and striking a pose in the ballroom. A faux headline on the snap claimed that she would be returning to the United States with an “epic comeback” on the dancing competition.
“This made me laugh- reminds me to never get a perm !!!” O’Donnell captioned the post, referencing her tightly curled hair in the image. “Completely untrue but funny 😁.”
At least one fan in the comments section was disappointed to learn the casting news was false, writing, “Wish it was true 👏🔥I would absolutely watch the show.”
No DWTS casting news for season 35 has been announced yet, though plenty of fans are already fantasizing about who they’d like to see in the ballroom. Season 34 wrapped up in November 2025 with Robert Irwin and pro partner Witney Carson finishing in first place.
As O’Donnell denied that she’ll be appearing on DWTS, another fan took the opportunity to pitch her for The Traitors, which films in Scotland. Last year, the former View host moved to nearby Ireland with her youngest child, Dakota, following the reelection of President Donald Trump.
“I’m here in Ireland, and it’s beautiful and warm — not physically, it’s actually quite cold,” the actress said in a March 2025 TikTok video, explaining she moved days before Trump, 79, was inaugurated for his second presidential term. “[I] moved here on January 15, and it’s been pretty wonderful, I have to say.”
O’Donnell went on to praise the people of Ireland as “so loving and so kind” since she established her new home in the country.
“I’m very grateful,” she added. “[I’m] in the process of getting my Irish citizenship, as I have Irish grandparents. And that’s what’s going on, and that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. And although I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are.”
O’Donnell adopted Dakota (whose nickname is Clay) in 2013 with her late ex-wife, Michelle Rounds, to whom she was married from 2012 to 2015. She adopted her four eldest children — Parker, 30, Chelsea, 28, Blake, 26, and Vivienne, 23 — with her first wife, Kelli Carpenter.
In her video last year, O’Donnell admitted that she misses her older kids, but she’s otherwise enjoying life outside the U.S.
“I’m happy. Clay is happy. I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home, and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country,” she explained. “And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”
