Jimmy Kimmel has responded to calls from Donald Trump and Melania Trump for him to be fired over a controversial ‘joke‘ he made last week, in which he called her “an expectant widow.”
The timing was unfortunate, as it aired just days before last week’s shooting attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
On Tuesday’s show, Kimmel referenced the drama in his nightly opening monologue, implying that he was surprised to wake up to the news that morning that “the First Lady put out a statement demanding you be fired”.
Kimmel tried to give his bit some context, claiming it was a “pretend roast,” and a dig at the President and First Lady’s age gap – not a call to arms.
While acknowledging Mrs Trump had a “stressful experience over the weekend” following the shooting, Kimmel said he he agreed with her statement that in general, “violent rhetoric” should be toned down – then cheekily suggested she might want to “have a conversation” with her husband about that before coming for him.
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FCC orders review of Disney’s broadcast license after Kimmel joke
The US Federal Communications Commission is now ordering an early review of Disney’s television broadcast licences days after Donald Trump called for the firing of Kimmel, following Mrs Trump’s statement.
In an order on Tuesday, the FCC said it had been investigating Disney’s ABC stations for possible violations, including unlawful discrimination.
A Disney spokesperson told the BBC that ABC and its stations serve the public within FCC guidelines.
The stations “have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information, and public‑interest programming”, the spokesperson said.
“Our focus remains, as always, on serving viewers in the local communities where our stations operate.”
Trump takes aim at Kimmel again – but this time, it’s Melania
After the shooting incident at the White House, Mrs Trump called Kimmel’s remarks “hateful and violent”, and said broadcaster ABC should take action against his “atrocious behaviour”.
It is the second time the current administration has conflicted with Kimmel, who was taken off air in September 2025 after his comments about the shooting of conservative identity Charlie Kirk.
At Saturday’s dinner, a gunman opened fire in an attack authorities say may have targeted Trump and his team.
Kimmel’s joke aired on Thursday, as Kimmel mocked the dinner in advance of the event.
“Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel ‘joked’.
On her various social media accounts, Mrs Trump said “people like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate”, and said the ABC should “take a stand”.
“His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she said.
“How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
In a post on Truth Social on Monday afternoon, Trump said he appreciated that so many were “incensed by Kimmel’s” remarks, accusing them of being a “call to violence”.
“[T]his is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” he wrote.
Jimmy Kimmel taken off air
Kimmel was taken off air last September after he made comments about the shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
In a monologue, Kimmel said the “MAGA gang” was trying to “score political points” from the murder of Kirk. After much backlash and debate, the show was reinstated a week later.
Upon his return, Kimmel said he accepted that some people felt his remarks about Kirk’s death had been “ill-timed or unclear or maybe both”, adding: “I get why you’re upset.”
Top image: Jimmy Kimmel. Source: ABC