George Clooney defends Jimmy Kimmel after Melania and Donald Trump demand ABC fire him: 'Jokes are jokes'

Mekishana PierreTue, April 28, 2026 at 3:24 PM UTC

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George Clooney; Jimmy KimmelCredit: Getty(2)Key Points -

George Clooney threw his support behind Jimmy Kimmel after Melania and Donald Trump demanded that ABC fire him for jokes made during his "alternative" White House Correspondents' Dinner.

"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 reasoned.

Kimmel also pushed back at the Trumps' ire at his jokes during Monday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

George Clooney is throwing in his two cents in defense of Jimmy Kimmel after the TV host's job was threatened by Melania and Donald Trump, again.

Kimmel has been catching flak for his scathing jokes at the president's expense made during the "alternative" White House Correspondents' Dinner he staged on Thursday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Melania slammed the late-night host in a social media post, calling on ABC to "take a stand" over what she described as Kimmel's "hateful and violent rhetoric." Donald echoed his wife's call for Kimmel to be fired in a post on Truth Social on Monday afternoon.

Clooney argued that the "heated" backlash Kimmel was getting from the president and First Lady was being taken out of context. He also compared the comedian's jokes to one White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made before the actual event was interrupted when an alleged gunman opened fire at the Washington Hilton, where the event was being held.

Jimmy Kimmel; Donald and Melania TrumpCredit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Taylor Hill/WireImage

"Jimmy's a comedian, and I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn't mean shots should be fired," Clooney said during the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, where he was honored for his contributions to cinema, per Variety. "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."

He added, "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, who has been a vocal critic of Trump's administration, went on to note that he believed "you’re not supposed to have a good relationship with government."

"You’re supposed to be questioning them," he continued. "People in power don't like to have to answer all the questions in the world. That's fair. They shouldn't enjoy it. And the reporters should make sure that they hold people's feet to the fire. That's the rules. That's what Jefferson talked about in 1787. We need to be able to have a free and fair press."

Kimmel's exercise of his free speech during Thursday's episode was a departure from his usual opening monologue, which he explained was in light of the change to the traditional White House Correspondents' Dinner format, where "typically someone funny shows up and roasts the luminaries and the president and everyone.

"But our president is a delicate snowflake with the thinnest fat skin of any human being ever, and that means there's gonna be no comedian this year," Kimmel quipped, before saying he decided to "do some of the jokes a comedian might do if our president wasn't a trembling drama queen who's scared of comedy."

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Kimmel took aim at the president and his alleged connections to Jeffrey Epstein, along with the AI-generated image that rendered Trump as what appeared to be Jesus. But the jokes that have caught the ire of the first couple were his remarks that the first lady had "a glow like an expectant widow."

He also called out her Amazon documentary, Melania, saying, "I want to congratulate you, Madam First Lady, on your huge accomplishment: the world's first motionless picture."

Jimmy Kimmel giving his monologue on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'Credit: Randy Holmes/ABC

Kimmel has also addressed Melania and Donald slamming his comments and calling for his removal.

At the start of Monday's episode, Kimmel shrugged off Melania's incensed rhetoric, sharing his gratitude that "no one was hurt" at the Correspondents' Dinner, "thank goodness," and offering an explanation for his "widow" joke.

"The remark was obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they're together," he said sardonically. "It was a very light roast joke about the fact that [Trump] is almost 80 and she's 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."

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Kimmel stated that he and Melania shared common ground, adding, "I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it."

"I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am. Just because no one got killed doesn't mean it wasn't traumatic and scary," Kimmel continued. "We should come together and be best. We really should."

on Entertainment Weekly

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