US first lady Melania Trump said Monday it was time for ABC to “take a stance” on Jimmy Kimmel following a monologue the late-night talk show host delivered before a shooting near a gathering of journalists and politicians over the weekend.
“Enough is enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC leadership enable Kimmel’s egregious behavior at the expense of our community?” he said in a post on X.
Kimmel, in a parody of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that aired last week before the actual event, said: “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like a pregnant widow.”
President Donald Trump and the first lady were hastily kicked out of dinner Saturday after a shooting in the lobby of the Washington Hilton. A suspect identified as Cole Allen walked through a checkpoint and fired at Secret Service agents, wounding one, before being subdued and arrested.
Disney and ABC had no immediate comment.
In September, the head of the Federal Communications Commission pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air. ABC briefly suspended Kimmel’s show that month over comments he made about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Hours before the suspension, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned that local stations that broadcast Kimmel could face fines or loss of licenses and said “it’s time for them to step up.” His comments drew pushback from the entertainment industry and politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who likened his threats to those of an organized crime boss.
In September, Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group briefly took Kimmel’s show off the air on its 70 ABC-affiliated stations, covering nearly a quarter of American households. Carr wants to make it easier for local stations to get ahead of national programming.
