{"id":2394498,"date":"2026-04-29T13:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2394498"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:40:02","slug":"jimmy-kimmel-defends-his-melania-trump-expectant-widow-joke-after-first-lady-and-president-call-for-his-firing-what-did-he-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/jimmy-kimmel-defends-his-melania-trump-expectant-widow-joke-after-first-lady-and-president-call-for-his-firing-what-did-he-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Kimmel defends his Melania Trump &#8216;expectant widow&#8217; joke after first lady and president call for his firing. What did he say?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Jimmy Kimmel on Monday responded to calls from President Trump and first lady Melania Trump for the ABC late-night host to be fired over a joke he made last week about them attending the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cYou know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job \u2014 we\u2019ve all been there, right?\u201d Kimmel said at the start of his <em>Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> monologue. \u201cWhat a day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Earlier Monday, Melania Trump posted <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FLOTUS\/status\/2048769128513585618\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:a statement to X;cpos:1;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">a statement to X<\/a> calling for ABC to fire Kimmel for the joke he made ahead of Saturday\u2019s event, which was disrupted by a gunman who ran through a security checkpoint and allegedly opened fire.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>Police tape blocks off an area at the Washington Hilton following a shooting on April 26.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Kylie Cooper\/Reuters)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" rel=\"\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/us\/live\/white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooting-updates-suspect-charged-with-attempted-assassination-of-trump-134313482.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:arrested and charged;cpos:2;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\">arrested and charged<\/a> with the attempted assassination of President Trump. A Secret Service agent who was wearing a bulletproof vest was struck in the chest by a bullet. The agent was treated at a hospital and released.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"what-did-kimmel-say-that-sparked-backlash\">What did Kimmel say that sparked backlash?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In March, Trump announced he was attending the dinner for the first time as president. In previous years, a comedian would be hired to deliver a roast. This year, the organizers decided to have a mentalist, Oz Pearlman, as entertainment instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On his show on Thursday night, Kimmel parodied Saturday\u2019s dinner in advance, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/GRjKhsJc95o?si=rIcXOhA0HTWnR9Nn&amp;t=348\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:delivering a mock roast;cpos:3;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">delivering a mock roast<\/a>. In it, he joked that Melania Trump had a \u201cglow like an expectant widow.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kimmel repeated the joke on Monday, saying that it \u201cobviously was a joke about their age difference\u201d \u2014 Donald Trump is 79; Melania Trump is 56 \u2014 \u201cand the look of joy we see on her face every time they\u2019re together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIt was a very light roast joke about the fact that he&#8217;s almost 80 and she&#8217;s younger than I am,\u201d Kimmel continued. \u201cIt was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that I&#8217;ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"what-did-melania-trump-say-about-kimmel\">What did Melania Trump say about Kimmel?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Kimmel\u2019s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,&#8221; the first lady wrote in her post on X. &#8220;His monologue about my family isn\u2019t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens [sic] the political sickness within America.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;People like Kimmel shouldn\u2019t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC\u2019s leadership enable Kimmel\u2019s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"what-did-president-trump-say-in-response\">What did President Trump say in response?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116477838570626860\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:a post on Truth Social;cpos:4;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">a post on Truth Social<\/a>, President Trump characterized Kimmel&#8217;s joke as a &#8220;despicable call to violence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;This is something far beyond the pale,&#8221; the president wrote, adding: &#8220;Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Representatives for ABC and Disney did not immediately return requests for comment.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"what-else-did-kimmel-say\">What else did Kimmel say?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On Monday night, Kimmel addressed Melania Trump directly, saying he agreed with the first part of her statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cAnd I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He added:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I also should point out Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I, as are all of us, because under the First Amendment we have as Americans a right to free speech. But with that said, I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am. Just \u2019cuz no one got killed doesn&#8217;t mean it wasn&#8217;t traumatic and scary. And we should come together and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.melaniatrump.com\/pages\/be-best\" data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:be best;cpos:5;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">be best<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On his show Tuesday night, Kimmel played a clip of Trump speaking earlier in the day at an event with the first lady, King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the White House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In his remarks, the president recalled that parents \u2014 Mary Anne MacLeod and Fred Trump \u2014 were married for 63 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThat\u2019s a record we won\u2019t be able to match, darling,\u201d he told Melania. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. It\u2019s just not going to work out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWait a minute,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" rel=\"\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/kimmel-wants-trump-fired-making-122909689.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Kimmel said;cpos:6;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\">Kimmel said<\/a>. \u201cDid he just make a joke about his death? My god. He should be fired for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"why-kimmel-was-suspended-last-year\">Why Kimmel was suspended last year<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In September, Kimmel was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" rel=\"\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/politics\/article\/jimmy-kimmel-live-pulled-off-air-indefinitely-by-abc-over-charlie-kirk-shooting-comments-235240704.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:temporarily taken off the air;cpos:7;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\">temporarily taken off the air<\/a> following controversial remarks that he made about far-right influencer Charlie Kirk\u2019s killing. Kimmel had questioned the ideological leanings ascribed to Kirk\u2019s accused killer, Tyler Robinson, and accused supporters of President Trump of trying to \u201cscore political points\u201d by calling Robinson a left-wing radical.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThe MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,\u201d Kimmel said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair, criticized Kimmel&#8217;s comments and suggested the FCC could move to revoke ABC affiliate licenses as a way of forcing Disney, the network\u2019s parent company, to punish him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way,\u201d Carr said at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The suspension sparked a backlash among free speech advocates, and Kimmel <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" rel=\"\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/article\/what-jimmy-kimmel-said-in-his-monologue-after-return-from-abcs-suspension-over-charlie-kirk-comments-134003780.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:8;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:returned;cpos:8;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\">returned<\/a> several days later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In an emotional 18-minute monologue, Kimmel said, &#8220;It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything funny about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI don&#8217;t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone,\u201d Kimmel added. \u201cThis was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn\u2019t \u2014 ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"whats-next\">What&#8217;s next?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The FCC is &#8220;moving toward a review of Disney\u2019s broadcast licenses,&#8221; <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" rel=\"\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/fcc-prepares-review-disney-tv-134925916.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:9;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Semafor reported on Tuesday;cpos:9;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\">Semafor reported on Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While the timing of the review &#8220;wasn\u2019t directly linked to the Kimmel monologue,&#8221; it would again put pressure on ABC&#8217;s owner as it faces scrutiny from the Trump administration over remarks from its late-night comedian.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jimmy Kimmel on Monday responded to calls from President Trump and first lady Melania Trump for the ABC late-night host to be fired over a joke he made last week about them attending the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner. \u201cYou know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2394499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[467261,23060,31122,310715],"class_list":["post-2394498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-fred-trump","tag-jimmy-kimmel","tag-melania-trump","tag-president-trump"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Jimmy-Kimmel-defends-his-Melania-Trump-expectant-widow-joke-after.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2394498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394500,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394498\/revisions\/2394500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2394499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2394498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2394498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2394498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}