Long-time Trump critic Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about Melania Trump that has landed him in another controversy. The first lady demanded that ABC take a stand against him and fire him over the “tasteless” widow joke he made about her.
Donald Trump also called him out in a separate post, asking ABC to cancel his show after the WHCD shooting incident. He accused Kimmel of promoting hate and violence in his show.
In response, Kimmel defended his joke and clarified that it had nothing to do with the shooting. He started his monologue with, “You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job? We’ve all been there, right?”
In Thursday’s episode of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, he joked, “Of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” The host also described what the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was like before Trump.
Jimmy Kimmel defends joke
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel linked yesterday in his talk show a few words to the controversy that he created with a joke about first lady Melania Trump, whom he had called a “warning widow.”
It did not fall into good soil with the presidential couple,… pic.twitter.com/U4VNXDZmbw
— benny 🇩🇰 🇫🇴 🇬🇱 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@benny0692698414) April 28, 2026
He mentioned a comedian used to host the show, but Trump stopped that to avoid being joked about. While defending his joke, he said the same thing and added, “There was no big reaction to it until this morning, when I greeted the day facing yet another Twitter vomit storm and a call to fire me from our first lady. Obviously, it was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together.”
He explained he made a light roast joke, pointing out that Melania Trump is younger than her husband, who’s turning 80 soon, and she’s younger than Kimmel himself. Furthermore, he explained that his joke was not a call to assassination and that he has always spoken out against gun violence.
Kimmel also humorously said the WHCD incident must have been traumatic for Melania, like every other weekend in that house. He then brought Donald Trump into the conversation, “And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it. Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I. Because under the First Amendment, we have, as Americans, a right to free speech.”
🚨 NEW: Jimmy Kimmel just DEFENDED his Melania “expectant widow joke,” claiming it was about their age difference. He fails to apologize, then doubles down:
KIMMEL: “It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any… pic.twitter.com/6YxyahKZzi
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) April 28, 2026
Earlier, the president posted about the ‘end of civilization’ while discussing Iran, which received severe backlash. Kimmel mentioned he made the joke three days before the shooting incident, before mocking Karoline Leavitt’s statement, and sarcastically calling her ‘psychic.’
In a pre-dinner interview, Leavitt spoke about Trump’s speech. She said his speech will be funny and entertaining, “there will be shots fired tonight.” Many people started connecting it to the aftermath of the dinner and even asking if this was staged.
Trump and Kimmel have had an ongoing feud since 2016. In the last few months, Kimmel had to defend his jokes repeatedly. In September, ABC suspended the show after his comments on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, but he was back in no time.
