Melania Trump has called on ABC to take action against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after he referred to her as an “expectant widow” in a joke that aired just days before a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
In a post on X, the first lady described Kimmel’s remarks as “hateful and violent” and urged the network to “take a stand” against his “atrocious behavior.”
Kimmel made the comment during a parody of the dinner, saying, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
A gunman opened fire near a security checkpoint at the actual event on Saturday, an attack that authorities say may have targeted the Trump administration. The president and first lady were evacuated unharmed.
“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate,” Melania Trump wrote. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community?”
President Donald Trump also weighed in, posting on Truth Social that Kimmel should be “immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” calling the joke a “call to violence.”
The BBC has contacted ABC for comment.
This is not the first time Kimmel has faced backlash. He was briefly taken off air last September after comments about the shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. After returning, he acknowledged that some felt his remarks were “ill-timed or unclear or maybe both.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticized Kimmel’s latest remark, calling it “completely deranged.”
The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president and weapon offenses. He did not enter a plea.