How ABC is handling Jimmy Kimmel backlash over Melania Trump ‘widow’ joke
Jimmy Kimmel isn’t going anywhere despite backlash over his “expectant widow” joke about Melania Trump.
An ABC source exclusively tells Page Six the network “is sticking by” the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host and “doesn’t plan to suspend him, fire him or cancel the show.”
The insider confirmed, “It’s back to taping per usual. They’re moving on.”
The 58-year-old made the viral quip during Thursday’s show in an “alternative” White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which poked fun at the annual event having a mentalist take part instead of a comedian.
“You have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said. “You know, Melania’s birthday is on Sunday. She’s planning to celebrate at home the way she always does — looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’”
Two days later, a gunman opened fire at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was taking place.
The first lady, 56, blasted Kimmel via X, tweeting, “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 deepen the political sickness within America.”
She continued, “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
President Donald Trump agreed that Kimmel should be fired “immediately,” dubbing his joke “shocking” and “far beyond the pale.”
Kimmel addressed the backlash during Monday night’s monologue, insisting he had only been making an “obvious” joke about Donald, 79, and Melania’s age gap.
“It was not by any stretch a call to assassination,” he said. “I agree hateful and violent is something we should reject. … A great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband.”
He went on to address Melania directly, acknowledging how “traumatic and scary” the shooting must have been.
Earlier that day, George Clooney showed support for Kimmel at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, saying, “Jokes are jokes.”
Kimmel made headlines last year when his show was yanked off the air over comments he made regarding Charlie Kirk’s death.
He returned within one week, reaching record numbers, and has since signed a one-year contract through May 2027.
Looking back on the scandal during a recent “IMO” episode, Kimmel argued that discussing politics on his show is “unavoidable.”
Hitting back at haters, he said, “Don’t tell me what my job is. I don’t tell you what your job is. My job is whatever I decide my job is, whatever my employer allows me to do. That’s what my job is.”
