Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has reignited controversy after repeating his joke about Melania Trump being an “expectant widow” days after a violent incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The comedian used his latest broadcast to revisit a line aimed at the First Lady, despite backlash from both Melania and US President Donald Trump who called on ABC to fire Kimmel on Monday.
During his show, Kimmel told viewers the moment felt familiar, referencing how he narrowly dodged outright cancellation for making similarly distasteful jokes about Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September.
“This was like déjà vu for me today,” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The original remark came during a segment designed to mirror traditional White House Correspondents’ Dinner roasts, which did not proceed this year.
“Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said last week.
He repeated the joke verbatim in his Monday night monologue following a failed assassination attempt on President Trump’s life — and after Melania called him out for “hateful and violent rhetoric”.
The response followed a shooting scare at the Washington Hilton, where a man allegedly entered the venue with plans to target members of the Trump administration.
Kimmel insisted his comments were separate from the incident, where a Secret Service agent suffered minor injuries after a gunman charged a checkpoint in a bid to kill the president.
Cole Allen, 31, was detained by authorities and was arraigned on multiple federal charges Monday afternoon in the DC federal court.
“There was no big reaction to it until this morning, when I faced yet another Twitter vomit storm and calls to fire me from our First Lady,” Kimmel said.
He also defended the intent behind the joke.
He said it focused on “about (Melania’s) age difference and the look of joy we see on her face” when she appears with the President.
Melania Trump rejected that explanation, accusing the host of crossing a line.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” she wrote on social media.
“His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”
President Trump echoed the criticism and called for action from the network.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” he wrote online.
The fallout extended beyond political figures.
A scheduled guest, Oz Pearlman, withdrew from the program following the incident and the public reaction.
Pearlman had been present at the Correspondents’ Dinner and was positioned near the president and first lady when the situation unfolded.
Podcaster Jon Lovett stepped in as a replacement guest and referenced the situation during his appearance.
He also used the segment to take aim at the broader political climate.
“We already went through another episode of Donald Trump trying to cancel Jimmy Kimmel. Gas is up to $6 a gallon. Open the f**king Strait of Hormuz,” Lovett said.