During the April 27 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host addressed First Lady Melania Trump. Both she and Donald Trump objected to a joke he made in his monologue last week.
Jimmy described the quip he made on April 23 as a “very light roast joke.” And he apologized – but not for the joke, which was made days prior to the White House Correspondence Dinner.
“I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that,” he said. “I really am. Just ’cause no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary.”
Jimmy Kimmel says “sorry,” but it’s not what you think…
“We should come together and be best, we really should,” Jimmy continued. “But if you want us to believe a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened, well then maybe someone should look into this psychic lady, too.”
The show then ran a clip of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s prophetic words prior to the event. She predicted there would be “some shots fired in the room” at the WHCD, indicating the president’s expected speech.
Jimmy went on to add that “typically, somebody funny shows up” to roast the current administration. However, since the White House went against tradition, the host held his own roast. During the bit, he joked that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.” Meant as a jab about their age difference and rumors of Trump’s health issues, the line took on a different meaning following the attempted attack.
As a result, Melania called for ABC to “take a stand” against Jimmy and his “hateful and violent rhetoric.” Joining her, Trump also called the remarks “shocking” on Truth Social. He also called for Jimmy to be “immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” Jimmy explained. “It was not by any stretch a call to assassination … They know that I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on ABC.
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