Late-Night Host Jimmy Kimmel Responds After Melania Trump Demands He Be Fired For ‘Hateful’ Joke, Says ‘Have A Conversation With Your Husband’ About Violent Rhetoric

Late-Night Host Jimmy Kimmel Responds After Melania Trump Demands He Be Fired For ‘Hateful’ Joke, Says ‘Have A Conversation With Your Husband’ About Violent Rhetoric

Late-night host #JimmyKimmel is pushing back after #MelaniaTrump publicly called for him to be fired over a joke.

The backlash stems from last week’s monologue, where Kimmel joked that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.” The remark came days before the shooting incident outside the dinner ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. However, following the unfortunate event, #DonaldTrump, his allies, and Melania all criticized Kimmel’s comments, with Melania issuing a statement urging ABC to take him off the air. She added, “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.”

Responding directly on his show Monday night (April 27), Kimmel rejected the narrative that he wished harm on Trump. “It was a very light roast joke,” he said, adding that it was “obviously… about their age difference,” not a threat or incitement. He also pushed back on claims the joke was dangerous, saying it was “not, by any stretch… a call to assassination.” Kimmel went a step further, suggesting the outrage was misplaced. “Also, I agree hateful and violent is something we should reject,” he continued. “I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”