Jimmy Kimmel defends Melania Trump 'widow' joke amid calls to fire him

Jimmy Kimmel has defended his joke about U.S. First Lady Melania Trump after the Trumps called for him to be fired over it.

During his opening monologue on Monday, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host insisted that calling Melania an "expectant widow" during a "pretend roast" on Thursday's show was a joke about the age difference between her and her husband Donald Trump.

Kimmel insisted he did not issue a "call to assassination" three days before shots were fired at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which the Trumps were attending, on Saturday night.

"Obviously, it was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they're together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," he stated. "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."

The TV personality then acknowledged Melania's statement on X, in which she accused Kimmel of spouting "hateful and violent rhetoric" intended to "divide our country".

"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," he continued. "Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I... because under the First Amendment, we have, as Americans, a right to free speech."

The 58-year-old noted that Saturday's shooting must have been "traumatic and scary" for those present, before adding, "But if you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened, well then, maybe someone should look into this psychic lady too."

He then played a clip of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt teasing Trump's speech before the event, telling a reporter that "there will be some shots fired tonight".

In a post on Truth Social, the U.S. President blasted Kimmel's "despicable call to violence" and urged Disney and ABC executives to fire him immediately.

Meanwhile, Melania, 56, accused Kimmel of spreading "hate" with his "corrosive" words, and wrote, "Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."

Kimmel was previously suspended from his show for several days in September following government pressure over his comments about the assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.