Host Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night “shining like a widow-to-be” joke for first lady Melania Trump has aged rather poorly following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) on Saturday. So much so that Melania and US President Donald Trump publicly called on ABC to fire Kimmel.
“Mrs. Trump, you have the glow of a widow-to-be,” Kimmel said in a segment billed as “alternative” to the annual media gala on the April 23 episode.
However, the comedian on Monday brushed off the Trumps’ criticism of his joke, saying it was a reference to her age difference with President Trump and not a call to assassinate him.
Kimmel called the experience “deja vu,” referring to the temporary suspension he faced for comments about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“No one was hurt, thank God,” he said of the April 25 shooting at the black-tie event. “Just because (because) no one was killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary,” Kimmel added.
Read also | Disney CEO faces first Trump test amid Kimmel’s “widow-to-be” joke.
Here’s what Jimmy Kimmel had to say about the “widow-to-be” joke:
Jimmy Kimmel during his monologue on an episode of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on April 27, he joked about waking up to Melania Trump issuing a statement “demanding that you be fired from your job”! and described his reaction as a “Twitter vomit storm”.
Kimmel addressed criticism of the “widow-to-be” joke, saying it was “a very light-hearted joke” and “obviously … about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together” and “in no way is it a call for assassination.”
Kimmel agreed with the first lady’s remarks about rejecting “hateful and violent rhetoric,” saying, “…and I think a great place to start dialing it down would be to talk to your husband about it.”
Read also | Melania lashes out at Kimmel over ‘widow’ joke and urges ABC to intervene
What did they say to Trump?
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is designed to divide our country. His monologue about my family is not comedy – his words are caustic and deepen the political sickness in America. People like Kimmel should not have the opportunity to enter our homes every night to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network to protect him is enough time for Melania to have had enough. Trump said in Monday in the post.
Shortly after her post, President Trump called for Kimmel to be fired in a post on Truth Social: “I appreciate that so many people are outraged by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence and normally wouldn’t respond to anything he said, but this is beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC.”
‘Look at that psychic lady’: Kimmel calls out Caroline Leavitt
Jimmy Kimmel also joked that if people believe his joke had an effect on what happened at the dinner, then maybe someone should watch White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt talk about the president’s planned speech, saying, “There’s going to be a few shots tonight” in a red carpet interview at the dinner.
“If you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any bearing on anything that happened, then maybe somebody should look into this psychic lady as well,” Kimmel said of Leavitt.
Read also | Trump cites White House fast-track ballroom security incident, dismisses lawsuit
Kimmel Takes Shots in Trump’s ‘Top Secret Ballroom’
Jimmy Kimmel also addressed US President Trump’s push to build a White House ballroom in response to the shooting, saying, “One thing about Donald Trump, there’s nothing he can’t turn into a real estate opportunity. He immediately made an argument for his ballroom.”
Trump wrote: “This event would never have happened with the top secret military ballroom currently under construction at the White House.”
To which Kimmel responded, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I’m afraid the top secret ballroom isn’t top secret anymore.”
