late night host Jimmy Kimmel has come under fire for a controversial joke in which he called First Lady Melania Trump an “expecting widow.” The comments, made just days before the shooting at the White House correspondents dinner, have sparked outrage and US President Donald Trump has called on ABC to fire Kimmel. Amid the backlash, actor George Clooney has stepped in to defend the comedian.
George Clooney supports Jimmy Kimmel
According to Variety, Clooney addressed the incident at the 51st Chaplin Awards ceremony, where the actor was being honored on Monday. The actor compared the reaction directed toward Kimmel to another comment by White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt that was taken out of context.
Before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Levitt told Fox News on the red carpet that “there will be some shots fired in the room tonight”, which referred to jokes written for the program. The actor stressed that the hyperbolic rhetoric “can be toned down.”
“Jimmy is a comedian, and I would argue that Caroline Levitt didn’t mean to be fired. She was joking. Exactly. You look at that and say, ‘Well, jokes are jokes.’ But the rhetoric is a bit dangerous. And we’ve seen a lot of this recently. “When one side calls someone they disagree with a traitor to the country, which is a charge that carries the death penalty, just because they don’t agree with something, I think the rhetoric is a little too extreme,” Clooney said.
The actor further added, “I always trust the press. I always believe in it. I’m the son of a journalist, you know? I also think you shouldn’t have a good relationship with the government. You should question them. The people I support—Democrats. So, I’m a Democrat. I make no apologies for that. The people I support—Bill Clinton, Barack Obama—didn’t enjoy being hounded by journalists. People in power have to do that. Don’t like.” He will have to answer all the questions of the world. This is appropriate. They should not enjoy it and journalists should ensure that they hold people’s feet to the fire.”
What did Jimmy Kimmel say?
The comedian is coming under fire after the shooting at the White House correspondents dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, where a Secret Service agent suffered minor injuries after a gunman attempted to breach a checkpoint with the intention of assassinating President Donald Trump and other members of his administration.
Kimmel had already mocked the dinner while giving a speech during his show on Thursday night, in which he commented: “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have the glow of a pregnant widow.”
On Saturday, a gunman fired his weapon at the annual event in Washington, D.C., and was taken into custody at the scene.
First lady Melania Trump has strongly condemned Jimmy Kimmel, calling him a “coward”. He wrote, “Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is aimed at dividing our country. His monologue about my family is not comedy – his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America. People like Kimmel should not have the opportunity to enter our homes every evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will continue to work covertly to protect him. Enough. Enough to ABC.” It’s time for ABC’s leadership to take a stand. Kimmel’s brutal behavior is at the expense of our community.”
US President Donald Trump has also urged ABC to terminate Jimmy Kimmel’s employment following the comedian’s comments. ABC has not yet issued any statement on the issue.