Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel is pushing back against criticism over a joke he made about First Lady Melania Trump, saying the remark has been widely misread and taken out of context.
Opening his show on Monday, Kimmel addressed the backlash directly. “It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” he said, referring to President Donald Trump. He added, “It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.”
The clarification comes after Trump, for the second time, publicly called on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and its parent company The Walt Disney Company to fire Kimmel. The president has accused the comedian of crossing a line and inciting violence through his remarks.
Kimmel, however, dismissed those claims, saying critics were overstating the intent behind the joke. He framed the comment as part of the usual style of late-night satire, where political figures are often the subject of humor.
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Kimmel is continuing to defend himself amid growing backlash over a joke about Melania Trump, insisting it has been mischaracterized and unfairly linked to violence.
The controversy traces back to a segment aired days before a shooting incident tied to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. During a parody routine imagining himself performing at the event, Kimmel joked that Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
The remark drew sharp criticism. In a post on X, Melania Trump said, “People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.” Her husband, Donald Trump, echoed the sentiment on Truth Social, calling the joke a “despicable call to violence” and “something far beyond the pale.”
Kimmel responded on his show, pushing back while acknowledging the broader concern. “I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject,” he said. “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.”
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He also expressed sympathy for those present at the event. Kimmel said he felt for Melania Trump and others who had to deal with what he described as a traumatic situation at the White House dinner. At the same time, he rejected any suggestion that his earlier joke played a role in the incident, saying it did not “have any effect on anything that happened.”
Kimmel has maintained throughout that the joke was part of a satirical routine and is now being taken far beyond its original intent.
This latest clash is part of a longer pattern of tensions between Donald Trump and television hosts, especially those in comedy and news who have openly criticized him.
Over the years, Trump has repeatedly called on networks to take shows off the air if he believes they are unfair or hostile toward him. He has also pushed for action against broadcasters, at times urging regulators to revoke the licenses of outlets he claims are biased.