First lady Melania Trump on Monday asked ABC to take action against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over jokes he made during a parody skit of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that aired days before the shooting occurred at the actual event.
The comedian spoke Thursday on his show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Gave a speech. In which he joked that the first lady looked as if she had “the glow of a pregnant widow.” The drama aired just two days after a shooter stormed Saturday’s WHCD dinner, where President Donald Trump, the first lady, Vice President J.D. Vance and other top administration officials were present, and was evacuated.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is aimed at dividing our country. His monologue about my family is not comedy — his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America,” he said in a statement monday. “People like Kimmel should not have the opportunity to enter our homes every evening to spread hate.”
The first lady accused ABC, the network that airs the show, of shielding her.
“A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will continue to work secretly to protect him,” she said. “Enough is enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How many more times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
Donald Trump on Monday also called on ABC and its parent company Disney to fire the comedian for his monologue.
“Jimmy Kimmel, who is not funny in any way, as his terrible television ratings indicate, made a statement on his show that is truly shocking… A day after a maniac tried to enter the ballroom of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. He went there for a very clear and sinister reason,” the president said. Written on Truth Social.
He said, “Disney and ABC should fire Jimmy Kimmel immediately.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt repeated the first lady’s criticism at a press briefing and called Kimmel’s comments inappropriate in the wake of this weekend’s shooting.
Leavitt told reporters on Monday, “Who in their right mind says a wife would be saddened over the possible murder of her beloved husband? And after experiencing what I did to the first lady on Saturday night, I can tell you she was anything but.” “This kind of rhetoric about the President, the First Lady, and their supporters is completely insane, and it is unbelievable that the American people are consuming it night after day.”
While the actual event, which this year took place Saturday at the Washington Hilton Hotel, typically involves a comedian, this year the White House Correspondents’ Association hired psychic Oz Perlman to serve as the evening’s entertainer.
Consistent with WHCD tradition, Kimmel presented himself as the comedian for the mock dinner shown during his skit and made a series of jokes towards the Trump family as if he had been chosen to roast the attendees.
“You’re looking good, Mr. President,” he said at one point during his mock monologue. “Who did your makeup, Craft Singles?”
Representatives for Kimmel and ABC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Donald Trump has long clashed with Kimmel and other late-night television hosts, arguing that the comedians display unfair bias against conservatives. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, who heads the body that regulates broadcast channels like ABC, is eyeing new ways to let TV networks drop some of the content promoted by the president’s toughest critics, threatening to revoke licenses and launching investigations into broadcasters for a number of alleged crimes.
Kimmel’s show was briefly halted by Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexstar Media Group last September and later reinstated after the comedian faced backlash for comments he made about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
John Hendel contributed to this report.
