Russell Brand is Rosie O'Donnell's New Crush

Who could possibly replace Tom Cruise? Apparently Russell Brand can!

American talk show host, Rosie O'Donnell, demanded that stand-up comedian Russell Brand be the first guest to appear on her new television show, after she met him at an airport and developed a crush on him. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, however, the 7 p.m. Monday night premiere of The Rosie Show drew a very modest 497,000 viewers.

The stand-up comedian admits that Rosie became something of a fan, when the two met at a Los Angeles airport.

I think he is epically, epically genius, and his life story is fascinating... He's my new sort of boy crush, said Rosie, who premiered her new show on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network, to Nightlife. She added that Tom Cruise knows he is out.

He's replaced Tom Cruise, he has, said Rosie, of British bad boy Russell.

I sent him (Tom Cruise) a little text. I said, 'Tommy, I'll always love you, move over, Russell Brand is in,' CNN quoted Rosie as saying.

The Rosie Show has received mixed reviews, according to a report in the Huffington Post. It is O'Donnell's first talk show, since she left ABC's The View in 2007.

The Rosie Show was followedm, at 8 p.m., by Oprah Winfrey's Oprah's Lifeclass, where she discussed insights on her experiences over the years. as a talk show host. The show performed poorly, drawing just 333,000 viewers; even less than The Rosie Show.