Kimmel Responds To Melania Trump—Says ‘Have A Conversation With Your Husband’ About ‘Violent Rhetoric’

BreakingBusinessKimmel Responds To Melania Trump—Says She Should Start With The President On Dialing Back ‘Violent Rhetoric’BySiladitya Ray,Forbes Staff. Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team reporter.Follow AuthorApr 28, 2026, 12:14am EDTApr 28, 2026, 12:23am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineLate-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night pushed back against criticism of a joke he made last week, where he said First Lady Melania Trump had “a glow like an expectant widow,” saying it was a reference to her age difference with President Donald Trump and not a call for his assassination.Jimmy Kimmel responded to calls from President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for him to be fired in his monologue on Monday.Disney via Getty ImagesKey FactsKimmel began his monologue joking about waking up to the first lady issuing a statement “demanding you be fired from your job,” and described her reaction as a “Twitter vomit storm.”The late-night host addressed the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, saying, “no one was hurt, thank goodness,” and a lot of people were “shaken up.”Addressing the criticism, Kimmel said the “expectant widow” joke was “obviously…about their age difference” and “not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.”Kimmel said he agrees with the first lady’s comments about rejecting “hateful and violent rhetoric” and added that he thinks a great place to start dialing that back “would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”This is a developing story.Got a tip? Share confidential information with Forbes.Editorial StandardsReprints & PermissionsLOADING VIDEO PLAYER...FORBES’ FEATURED Video