First lady Melania Trump is slamming Jimmy Kimmel for a recent joke he made ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” Trump, 56, shared via X on Monday, April 27. “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 spread hate.”
During the Thursday, April 23, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel, 58, parodied the annual White House Correspondents’ Association event days before it was scheduled to occur in Washington, D.C.
“Our first lady Melania is here,” Kimmel said when pretending to be the host of the evening. “So beautiful, Mrs. Trump you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
On Saturday, April 25, a gunman opened fire during the dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was apprehended at the scene. All attendees, including President Donald Trump and Melania were safe.
“I want to thank the first lady, that was a rather traumatic experience for her,” Donald, 79, told reporters from the White House on Saturday hours after the incident. “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society, we’re not going to cancel things out … we can’t do that.”
In her latest social media post, Melania expressed her disappointment at ABC for continuing to give Kimmel a platform.
“A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him,” she claimed. “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?”
Us Weekly has reached out to Kimmel’s rep and ABC for comment.
One public figure who may be supportive of Melania’s post is Meghan McCain. Over the weekend, the former cohost of The View expressed her dismay at Kimmel’s monologue.
“I am so deeply sick of Jimmy Kimmel and the hate he spreads in the world,” she wrote via X.
This isn’t the first time Kimmel has faced controversy for his on-air comments. In September 2025, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was temporarily suspended after Kimmel’s controversial jokes about Charlie Kirk‘s death.
When returning to his show, Kimmel said it was never his intention to make light of the murder of a young man, adding, “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
It’s unclear whether Kimmel will address Melania’s comments on his next episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! scheduled for Monday night on ABC.
