Sage Steele says she'd be shocked if Disney disciplines Jimmy Kimmel over Melania Trump jab
Sage Steele expressed doubt that Disney will discipline Jimmy Kimmel for his 'expectant widow' joke about First Lady Melania Trump, citing a perceived double standard in how the company handles controversial remarks. She urged Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro to take a stand against what she called hateful rhetoric. Kimmel defended the comment as a light roast joke about age differences and denied any intent to incite violence. The remarks followed backlash and a recent security incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
- ▪Sage Steele said she would be shocked if Disney disciplined Jimmy Kimmel for his joke referring to Melania Trump as an 'expectant widow'.
- ▪Steele, a former ESPN host, argued that Disney has a history of inconsistent standards regarding controversial speech.
- ▪Kimmel defended his joke as a lighthearted comment about the Trumps' age difference and denied it was a threat or call to violence.
- ▪The controversy gained traction after an armed individual attempted to breach the WHCA Dinner, increasing scrutiny of political humor.
- ▪Neither ABC nor Disney has publicly responded to requests for comment on the matter.
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Fox News Flash Sage Steele says she'd be shocked if Disney disciplines Jimmy Kimmel over Melania Trump jab Steele says Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro has a chance to 'reset' and 'drop the hammer' on the late-night host's rhetoric By Taylor Penley Fox News Published April 28, 2026 9:04am EDT Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video It would ‘shock me’ if Disney fired Kimmel over Melania widow joke, says Sage Steele ‘The Sage Steele Show’ host Sage Steele discusses comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s calling first lady Melania Trump an ‘expectant widow’ on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Former ESPN host Sage Steele cast doubt on whether Disney will discipline Jimmy Kimmel over his "expectant widow" jab against first lady Melania Trump, saying she would be shocked if the company takes action despite growing backlash. if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('tablet', 'lb2', 'tablet-tw-ad-lb2', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('mobile', 'ban1', 'mobile-mw-ad-ban1', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } "I would say it would shock me if they did based on history..." Steele said Monday on "Jesse Watters Primetime.""Will they? Who knows? Should they? Absolutely." if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('desktop', 'lb2', 'desktop-desk-ad-lb2', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } Steele, who worked for The Walt Disney Company for nearly two decades at ESPN, pointed to her own experience as evidence of what she described as a double standard in how the company handles controversial speech. if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('mobile', 'ban2', 'mobile-mw-ad-ban2', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } MAHER CALLS OUT KIMMEL FOR NOT THANKING HIM FOR SUPPORT AMID SUSPENSION, ACCUSES KIMMEL OF LIBERAL BIAS TV personality Sage Steele, left, during a panel discussion at SXSW on March 9, 2018, in Austin, Texas; Jimmy Kimmel, right, attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Mark Guiducci at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15 in Los Angeles, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Cisco Systems, Inc.; Cindy Ord/VF26/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('tablet', 'lb3', 'tablet-tw-ad-lb3', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } She argued that Kimmel’s remarks crossed a line, adding that Disney’s new leadership has an opportunity to take a different approach."[CEO Josh D'Amaro] has an opportunity now to reset, to say, 'You know what? Enough is enough. We as a network are not going to contribute to this hateful rhetoric,' and he can drop the hammer now..." she added. if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('mobile', 'ban3', 'mobile-mw-ad-ban3', ''); }); } else {…
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