Melania Trump urges ABC to act against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel
As fallout mounted from the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington DC, US first lady Melania Trump called on ABC to act against host Jimmy Kimmel over a monologue he delivered before the violence erupted.
As fallout mounted from the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington DC, US first lady Melania Trump called on ABC to act against host Jimmy Kimmel over a monologue he delivered before the violence erupted.
“Enough is enough. 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,” she said in a post on X.
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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.
People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to…
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 27, 2026
In a parody tied to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that aired last week ahead of the actual gathering, Mr Kimmel said: “Mrs Trump you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
US President Donald Trump and the first lady were hurried out of the dinner on Saturday after gunfire broke out in the lobby of the Washington Hilton.
Disney and ABC did not immediately comment.
Later in the day, Mr Trump said Disney and ABC should fire Mr Kimmel at once over the monologue that aired before the shooting.
“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,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Pressure on the comedian is not new. In September, the head of the Federal Communications Commission urged broadcasters to remove Mr Kimmel from the air.
Jimmy Kimmel delivered a monologue tied to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner before the event itself took place (file image)
That same month, ABC briefly suspended Mr Kimmel’s show over remarks he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Just hours before that suspension, FCC head Brendan Carr warned that local broadcasters carrying Mr Kimmel could face fines or even lose their licenses, saying “it’s time for them to step up.”
Those remarks drew sharp criticism from the entertainment industry and from politicians across the political spectrum, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who compared the threats to the tactics of an organised crime boss.
Also in September, Sinclair SBGI.O and Nexstar Media Group NXST.O temporarily pulled Mr Kimmel’s show from their 70 ABC-affiliated stations, which reach nearly a quarter of US households.
Mr Carr has pushed to give local broadcasters more freedom to pre-empt national programming.
In November, Mr Trump also attacked an ABC News correspondent for questioning Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist, and suggested the commission should consider revoking the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations.
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