Published: 09:12 AM, 30 April 2026
George Clooney defends Jimmy Kimmel over Melania joke
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has come under fire over a controversial joke in which he referred to First Lady Melania Trump as an "expectant widow." The remark, made just days before a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, has sparked outrage, with US President Donald Trump asking ABC to terminate Kimmel. Amid the backlash, actor George Clooney has stepped in to defend the comedian.
As per Variety, Clooney addressed the incident at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, where the actor was being honoured on Monday. The actor compared the backlash directed toward Kimmel to another remark by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that was taken out of context.
Before the White House Correspondents Dinner, Leavitt told Fox News on the red carpet that "there will be some shots fired tonight in the room", which appeared to refer to the jokes written for the event. The actor asserted that hyperbolic rhetoric "can be toned down."
"Jimmy's a comedian, and I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn't mean shots should be fired. She was making a joke. Fair enough. You look at that side and go, 'Well, jokes are jokes.' But the rhetoric is a little dangerous. And we've seen it a lot lately. When one side is calling anyone they disagree with traitors to the country, which is a charge that's punishable by death, just because they don't agree with someone, I think the rhetoric is a little too heated," Clooney said.
