A fresh controversy has erupted around late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, after former first lady Melania Trump publicly lambasted a hateful joke he made ahead of the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner – where a would-be attacker later opened fire in an incident authorities suspect targeted senior Trump administration figures.
The incendiary quip, delivered during Kimmel’s pre-dinner monologue on ABC on Thursday, targeted the former first lady directly. “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel joked. Just two days after the segment aired, 31-year-old suspect Cole Tomas Allen was tackled by Secret Service agents near a staircase leading to the dinner ballroom, which was packed with hundreds of journalists, government officials and high-profile public figures. No attendees were harmed in the incident, and Allen is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday.
In the wake of the shooting, a clip of Kimmel’s joke resurfaced online and ignited widespread backlash across social media platforms, with many critics arguing that the comedian’s harsh rhetoric crossed a line and emboldened political violence. On Monday, Melania Trump broke her silence on the incident with a scathing public post on X, denouncing Kimmel’s comment as dangerous and unfunny.
The former first lady called Kimmel’s remark “hateful and violent”, describing the joke about herself and her family as corrosive commentary that amplifies the deep political polarization dividing the United States. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she wrote. Melania Trump went on to call on network executives at ABC, Kimmel’s long-time broadcaster, to take disciplinary action against the host for what she labeled his “atrocious behavior”. She questioned why network leadership has repeatedly enabled Kimmel’s inflammatory rhetoric, writing: “How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.” She added that commentators like Kimmel should not be given a national platform to “spread hate” into American households each night.
This is not the first time Kimmel’s controversial political commentary has gotten him pulled from air. Last September, the host was temporarily suspended after drawing outrage for remarks he made following the fatal shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. During that monologue, Kimmel claimed that Trump’s Make America Great Again movement – commonly nicknamed “Maga” – was attempting to exploit Kirk’s murder for political gain. After a week off the air, Kimmel returned to the show and acknowledged that his comments had been poorly received. “I accept that some people felt my remarks about Kirk’s death had been ‘ill-timed or unclear or maybe both’,” he said at the time, adding “I get why you’re upset.”
As of Monday, the BBC has reached out to ABC News for a response to Melania Trump’s latest demands, and the network has not yet issued a public comment on the controversy.