ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel remained defiant Monday night, insisting his now-viral “expectant widow” joke about President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump was simply about their age.
“This was Thursday, and there was no big reaction to it until this morning, when I greeted the day facing yet another Twitter vomit storm,” Kimmel said during his monologue. “I said, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her. So beautiful. This is from the glow. Like an expectant widow, which obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they were together.”
“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,” he continued. “I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular, but I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house.”
Kimmel said the joke referred to the couple’s age difference and denied that it was a call to assassination.
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“And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do it, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it,” Kimmel later told the first lady. “Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you, as am I, as are all of us. Because under the First Amendment, we have as Americans a right to free speech. But with that said, I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am. Just because no one got killed, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary. We should come together and be the best.”
Notably, celebrity mentalist Oz Pearlman, the entertainment headliner who was scheduled to perform at the WHCA Dinner until the attack upended the evening, backed out of his slated appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and was replaced at the last minute by liberal “Pod Save America” host Jon Lovett.
MELANIA TRUMP CALLS FOR ABC TO FIRE JIMMY KIMMEL OVER ‘HATEFUL AND VIOLENT RHETORIC’
Kimmel’s joke from Thursday went viral on social media in the wake of Saturday’s attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner, which federal authorities say involved an armed man trying to storm the event while targeting Trump and top Cabinet officials.
Both President Trump and first lady Melania Trump issued statements calling for Kimmel’s firing from the Disney-owned network.
“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 posted on X.
“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,” the first lady continued. “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.”
EX-OBAMA AIDE CALLS ON KIMMEL TO APOLOGIZE FOR ‘TASTELESS’ JOKE AHEAD OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
The president later followed suit, writing Monday on Truth Social that Kimmel’s remark amounted to a “despicable call to violence.”
“I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said, but this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Last year, Kimmel was briefly suspended by Disney after controversial remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk sparked outrage, and ABC said the show would be preempted indefinitely. He returned to the air days later and insisted he never intended to make light of Kirk’s death.
In December, ABC extended his contract until at least May 2027.
Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, the 31-year-old accused of targeting top Trump administration officials, is facing three counts, including attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transporting a firearm across state lines and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Top DOJ officials said Monday that additional charges are expected, and he faces life imprisonment.
Neither ABC nor its parent company, Disney, responded to Fox News Digital‘s requests for comment.
