‘Not a call to assassination’: Kimmel defends Melania gag after Trumps demand he be fired

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-04-28T07:29:41Z","datePublished":"2026-04-27T16:55:35Z","description":"The late-night host made a remark comparing the first lady to an “expectant widow” in a skit broadcast days before the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.","headline":"‘Not a call to assassination’: Kimmel defends Melania gag after Trumps demand his firing","keywords":"US politics, Trump's America, Donald Trump, Talk shows, Melania Trump, USA, Trump diplomacy, Just in, Trump's White House, Screens Ooh! SMH, Screens Ooh! The Age, Screens Ooh! BT, Screens Ooh! WAT","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Meg Watson","jobTitle":"Deputy TV editor","url":"/by/meg-watson-p5367d"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah McPhee","jobTitle":"Overnight Homepage Editor","url":"/by/sarah-mcphee-p4yw52"}],"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/melania-trump-lashes-jimmy-kimmel-over-expectant-widow-joke-20260428-p5zric.html","@type":"WebPage"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"1322.6666666666665","url":"https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.9459999999999998%2C$multiply_0.7025%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_386%2C$y_15/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/e7016c4ded6aa87bbdb4f63873c98fdfa5f6a604d23a6f532f51965dc2052233","width":"744"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".paywall"}],"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"628","url":"https://www.smh.com.au/metro-assets/assets/static/smh.png","width":"1200"},"url":"https://www.smh.com.au"},"isPartOf":{"@type":["CreativeWork","Product"],"name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","productID":"smh.com.au:webonly"}}{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/world","name":"World"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america","name":"North America"},"position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/topic/us-politics-1nlq","name":"US politics"},"position":3}]}AdvertisementWorldNorth AmericaUS politics‘Not a call to assassination’: Kimmel defends Melania gag after Trumps demand his firingMeg Watson and Sarah McPheeUpdated April 28, 2026 — 5:29pm,first published April 28, 2026 — 2:55amSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAASydney/Washington: Jimmy Kimmel has defended a joke he made about the US first lady having the glow of an “expectant widow” as a “light roast” after Melania and Donald Trump called for the late-night host to be sacked.The remark was broadcast on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, days before an alleged assassination attempt on the US president at a Washington gathering of journalists and politicians.“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that [Donald Trump] is almost 80, and she’s younger than I am,” Kimmel said in his opening monologue on Monday (US time). “It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.”Earlier in the day, Donald Trump said Kimmel should be fired by American broadcaster ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney, while the first lady accused Kimmel of “hateful and violent rhetoric” and said it was time for the ABC to take a stand.Advertisement“I appreciate that so many people…

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