Jimmy Kimmel is in hot water again. The 58-year-old late night host made a joke about first lady Melania Trump on Thursday, April 23 becoming a widow, just two days before she was evacuated at the White House Correspondents Dinner due to a shooter.
On the Thursday episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Jimmy acted as an MC at the dinner and joked: "Of course, our first lady, Melania, is here," saying that she looked "so beautiful," and added: "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
Both Melania and her husband, President Trump, took to social media to disavow Jimmy's joke and even call for his network, ABC, to fire him.
© Getty Images"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," Melania posted on X.
She continued: "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. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."
President Trump agreed with his wife, writing to social media: "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC." The sentiment reiterates Trump's distaste for the press, which is a separate and free entity in the United States.
© Getty ImagesJimmy responded to the Trumps' social media statements on the Monday, April 27 episode of his show. "Sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job," he joked, adding: "We've all been there, right?"
He continued: "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."
What else has Jimmy Kimmel said that was deemed controversial?
The current controversy between Jimmy and the Trumps is not new. The late-night host and Trump first bumped heads in October 2015, when Jimmy poked fun at the then-Republican candidate for president for cancelling an appearance on his talk show last minute.
© Getty ImagesSince then, Jimmy has been a vocal opponent against Trump's presidencies, criticizing his stances on healthcare, gun rights, and his general demeanor.
Ten years after the two's beef began, in September 2025, after right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk was murdered, Jimmy referenced Trump's focus on the construction of the White House ballroom rather than the death of his friend, and joked on his show: "This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend… This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish."
© Getty ImagesJimmy Kimmel Live! was quickly taken off the air, with Nexstar Media Group calling Jimmy's comments "offensive." The show went dark for nearly a week before returning on Tuesday, September 23 to a whopping 6.26 million broadcast viewers alone according to the ABC, despite affiliate stations owned by Nexstar and Sinclair preempting his show, effectively blocking 23% of US TV households from watching.
