Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has responded after Melania Trump and Donald Trump once again called for him to be fired from his show. The reaction comes after a series of jokes Kimmel made during a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which sparked backlash from the former president and first lady.
Here is what the ‘First Lady,’ Melania Trump, wrote in her tweet:
Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.
People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to…
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 27, 2026
The issue began with what Kimmel described as an “alternative” version of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on his show last Thursday. The real event had broken tradition by not hiring a comedian to roast the president and his administration. In response, Kimmel staged his own mock roast. The segment included edited clips and stock footage reactions featuring Donald and Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and even unexpected figures like Vanilla Ice and Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Jimmy Kimmel Fires Back
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During the monologue, Kimmel made a joke about Melania Trump having “a glow like an expectant widow.” That line quickly became the center of the controversy. Two days after the segment aired, the actual Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton was interrupted when an alleged gunman opened fire. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the incident added tension to the situation.
Melania Trump later spoke out strongly against Kimmel. In a social media statement, she accused him of using “hateful and violent rhetoric” and urged ABC to take action. She said his words were harmful and contributed to what she described as a growing political problem in the country. She also said people like Kimmel should not be allowed into homes each evening to spread hate and called on the network to stop protecting him.
Kimmel addressed the criticism during Monday’s episode of his show. He opened with a joke, saying it is not every day that someone wakes up to find the first lady demanding they be fired. He then shifted to a more direct response. He said he was grateful that no one was hurt at the Correspondents’ Dinner and made it clear that his earlier joke was not meant to suggest anything violent.
According to Kimmel, the “widow” line was simply a joke about the age difference between Donald and Melania Trump and the way she appears in public with him. He stressed that it was a light roast and not a call to harm anyone. He also reminded viewers that he has been vocal for years about being against gun violence.
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Kimmel also tried to find some common ground. He said he agreed that hateful and violent rhetoric should be rejected. However, he added that a good place to start that conversation would be within the Trump household. He expressed sympathy for those who were present during the shooting scare at the Correspondents’ Dinner, saying that even without casualties, the situation was still frightening.
At the same time, Kimmel pushed back against the idea that his joke had anything to do with the incident. He suggested that if people were making such connections, they might as well also question a psychic who had been invited to the event. He also pointed out a separate comment made by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who had joked before the dinner that “there will be some shots fired,” adding another layer to the discussion.
Donald Trump also weighed in with his own response on Truth Social. He criticized Kimmel’s humor and called his statement “shocking.” He said many people were upset and described Kimmel’s joke as a call to violence. Trump went further by saying that Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.
This is not the first time Kimmel has faced backlash. Last September, his show was temporarily suspended after comments he made about the “MAGA gang” while discussing the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The suspension followed encouragement from FCC chairman Brendan Carr for ABC and its parent company Disney to take action. However, Kimmel returned to the air within a week.
For now, Kimmel appears unfazed by the renewed calls for his firing. He continues to stand by his remarks, framing them as comedy rather than anything harmful, while also addressing the serious concerns raised in the aftermath of the Correspondents’ Dinner incident.
