Jimmy Kimmel has received public support from George Clooney, who defended the late-night host amid President Donald Trump’s calls for him to be fired over a “widow” joke.
“Jimmy’s a comedian,” said Clooney on Monday night at the 51st Chaplin Awards Gala in New York.
To highlight his point, the actor referenced how White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, prior to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner being derailed by a gunman incident, had jokingly teased Trump’s speech by saying he was ready to “rumble” and “there will be some shots fired.”
“I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn’t mean shots should be fired, right? She was making a joke. Fair enough,” said Clooney. “I look at that side and go, ‘Well, jokes are jokes.’ But the rhetoric, I think, is a little dangerous. And we’ve seen it a lot lately.”
Trump and First Lady Melania called for Kimmel to be fired over a skit the comedian delivered about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner—a bit which was filmed and televised days before this year’s event.
During the Jimmy Kimmel Live! bit, the late-night host pretended to be the event’s MC and said: “Our First Lady Melania is here. So beautiful, Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
After the shooting, Melania revisited the skit and accused Kimmel of “hateful and violent rhetoric” that’s “intended to divide our country.”
“Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand,” she argued. “How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
President Trump echoed his wife’s remarks, arguing that “Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Kimmel addressed the backlash during the Monday taping of his late-night show.
“You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the First Lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job,” said the comedian during his opening monologue. “We’ve all been there, right?”
Defending himself, he said the sketch had been “a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s [President Trump] almost 80 and she’s [Melania] younger than I am.”
“It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination and they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular,” Kimmel continued. “I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”
This incident is the latest in a long line of clashes between Kimmel and the President, with their feud dating back years.
In September 2025, Trump celebrated the suspension of Kimmel’s show, after the network took action over a remark the comedian made after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel had mocked Trump for his response to a reporter’s question about how he was holding up.
When Trump’s reply focused on construction of the White House ballroom rather than the conservative commentator’s death, Kimmel joked: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend… This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.” The comedian then went on to say that the “MAGA gang” was trying to “score political points” following Kirk’s assassination.
After Kimmel’s show was suspended, Trump said: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
But the suspension only lasted a matter of days, amid much criticism and calls for Kimmel to be re-instated.
Upon hearing the news, Trump hit out at the network.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was canceled,” he said. “Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat garbage?”
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