US EditionTrump calls on ABC to fire Kimmel after he joked Melania was an ‘expectant widow’
Trump and Melania say Kimmel’s joke was hateful rhetoric and ask ABC and Disney to fire him after a security scare at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
- On Monday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump demanded ABC and Disney fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over his "expectant widow" joke about the first lady, linking the remark to the attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
- Kimmel's April 23 parody monologue featured a sketch about the first lady, which Trump and his allies characterized as "corrosive" rhetoric linked to the April 25 security breach at the Washington Hilton. The joke aired two days before the incident.
- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt labeled the comedian's remarks "completely deranged" during a Monday briefing. Suspect Cole Tomas Allen was charged with attempted assassination following the Saturday shooting that wounded a Secret Service agent.
- ABC and parent company Disney face a critical free speech stress test, with new CEO Josh D'Amaro confronting an early decision on whether to discipline Kimmel amid intense presidential and public pressure. The choice will likely set corporate precedent on balancing talent protections with government demands.
- This controversy mirrors past interventions, including Trump's 2025 pressure on ABC over Kimmel's remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, highlighting a recurring pattern of presidential scrutiny over broadcast content and licenses. Free speech advocates argue satire remains constitutionally protected.
214 Articles
214 Articles
In a parody of White House Correspondents' dinner, Kimmel said that Melania Trump "shined like a widow. The sketch was broadcast two days before the gala dinner, where shots were fired.
When he made his joke in the broadcast of his show last Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel probably didn’t imagine what would happen two days later. That day, in a segment of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on the American ABC network, the driver, dressed in tuxedo and standing behind a podium, pretended that he presented a comic number at the dinner of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA). In his speech he included fake plans of the Trumps and others, tak…
The presenter made a parody about dinner two days before the president and the first lady were victims of an attack.More information: This is how Melania lived the attack on Donald Trump: he heard the shots fired before the President and even 'daunted' the shooting.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel referred to Melania Trump as a woman with the »gloss of a widow«. The US President condemned the sketch as a »call for violence«.
Disney CEO faces first Trump test as President and Melania demand ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel over 'expectant widow' joke
New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro faces his first major Trump crisis as the president and Melania publicly demand that ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel over his 'expectant widow' joke, days after the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting.
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