Jimmy Kimmel fires back at Melania Trump over backlash to 'widow' joke
Late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel responded defiantly to calls demanding he be fired after joking about President Donald Trump dying before the latest assassination attempt.
Kimmel made the joke during a parody Thursday where he pretended to tell jokes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and made one at the expense of the president.
'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.'
Only two days later, an allegedly crazed gunman fired shots at the dinner after posting threats against the president and his administration online.
Kimmel replied to the backlash during his show Monday night.
"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?" Kimmel said.
He claimed the joke was not about the president dying but rather about the lack of joy on the first lady's face during their interactions.
"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 stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that," Kimmel said.
"I've been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular," he added. "But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend. And probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. 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."
Both the president and first lady called for Kimmel to be fired for the joke.
"Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow!" Kimmel quipped.
Kimmel's show was pulled off the air in Sept. 2025 after he suggested that the suspect in the killing of activist Charlie Kirk was a Trump supporter. He went back to his show only a few days later.
The first lady posted her comments on Monday.
"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," she wrote.
"People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him," she added.
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