Veteran comedian Jimmy Kimmel has fired yet another shot at the Donald Trump administration, doing so at the 2026 Oscars. The late-night talk show host expressed his concerns about the current situation of the nation at the prestigious event, going as far as to describe the US as a “ridiculous country.”
Jimmy Kimmel talks about ‘ridiculous’ country
During his recent appearance at the 98th Academy Awards, the veteran comedian shared his stance on the present state of the world.
“Yes, I’m exhausted, of course,” Jimmy Kimmel told Variety at the 2026 Oscars red carpet. “It’s ridiculous. We live in a ridiculous country. We always lived in a ridiculous country, but it was always ridiculous in a fun, Mr. T kind of way. Now we’ve got a different Mr. T.”
When questioned whether the situation made him nervous, the 58-year-old replied, “No, I’m not scared. No, I’m not scared. Am I hopeful? I’m always hopeful, yeah. I’m always hopeful.”
Kimmel’s comments come after he called out the restricted freedom of expression for artists, while also mocking the Melania Trump documentary, during the Oscars ceremony.
While presenting the categories for Best Documentary Feature Film and Best Documentary Short, Jimmy Kimmel noted, “We hear a lot about courage at shows like this, but telling a story that could get you killed for telling it is real courage. As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s leave it at North Korea and CBS.”
Kimmel then threw shade at the recently released Melania movie, stating, “There are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes.” Notably, the Brett Ratner–directed documentary encapsulated the First Lady’s life in the 20 days before Trump’s second presidential inauguration.
Later in the ceremony, Jimmy Kimmel once again took a jab at Donald Trump. He quipped, “Oh man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” as he called out the nominees for Best Documentary Feature Film.
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on Mandatory.
