As of late, Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been embroiled in yet another situation involving the U.S. government. Kimmel received backlash from President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after he made comments on air about the latter looking like an “expectant widow.” Those comments were made during a monologue that aired ahead of the reported White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting situation. Kimmel has since defended his comments and, now, media pundit Megyn Kelly is weighing in on the controversy.
Kelly discussed the Kimmel situation during a recent episode of her eponymous show (which was posted to YouTube). It was during that same installment that Kelly invited comedian Adam Carolla, who notably defended Kimmel’s remarks on a separate occasion. While diving into the topic, Kelly noted the fact that President Trump was calling for Kimmel to be fired from his late-night post amid the 2026 TV schedule. From there, the former Fox News pundit said this while addressing Carolla:
[Trump] just retweeted again today that he wants Kimmel fired. It's very inappropriate. The president of the United States should not be calling for any private company to fire any employee, especially over free speech. But I thought the joke was out of line.
Jimmy Kimmel made his comment during a faux White House Correspondents' Dinner roast featured during the opening monologue of his April 23rd broadcast. While the segment didn’t initially seem to garner much attention, the backlash ensued after a man subsequently appeared at the real Correspondents’ Dinner with multiple guns and allegedly sought to kill the president. Since then, Donald Trump and others have been adamant about ABC and Disney firing Kimmel.
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Eventually, the Federal Communications Commission – or FCC – issued some advice for Disney. Commission chairman Brendan Carr specifically suggested that the House of Mouse take steps to apply for broadcast licences for the eight ABC stations it currently owns. This request is related to an investigation involving ABC and Disney’s alleged violations of the government’s new DEI regulations. Now, given the FCC’s move, the renewal deadline has been set at May 28, which marks an early renewal benchmark, as 2028 was previously the earliest point at which those processes would be necessary.
As previously alluded to, this isn’t the first time Jimmy Kimmel has drawn the ire of President Trump or a response from Brendan Carr. All of them were tied within the same headlines last fall when Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely due to comments he made that were related to the death of political pundit Charlie Kirk. Said suspension also came down after Carr suggested that ABC’s broadcast licence could be revoked as a result of the comments. While Trump also called for Kimmel’s firing, the host’s show was eventually reinstated.
Jimmy Kimmel received support during that first broadcast brouhaha, with some right-leaning media personalities even backing him as well. What’s particularly notable about Megyn Kelly’s support this time around is that she called for Kimmel’s firing during the first situation. Kelly has also notably called out Kimmel and other hosts for the way in which they convey their political opinions on air. Still, Kelly’s recent comments suggest she’s in Kimmel’s corner this time, and time will tell how others might weigh in as well.
New episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! air weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.
