Jimmy Kimmel courted controversy again after a joke about Melania drew backlash on social media. The U.S. president demanded that the television network fire Kimmel immediately. In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Meryl Streep publicly backed the talk show host amid the ongoing controversy.
Streep calls Kimmel “a Knight Templar”
Streep was on Kimmel’s show promoting her upcoming movie, The Devil Wears Prada 2. At the beginning of the conversation, the actress asked how the host was doing, and he said he was “holding up.” Thereafter, Streep praised Kimmel’s role in satire and free speech, positioning him as someone “carrying the banner of freedom,” indirectly referring to the Melania joke controversy.
“You’re a prince. You are a Knight Templar,” Streep said, adding, “you’re carrying the banner of freedom of the press.”
Kimmel said that he was “just trying to do some jokes.” Streep responded, “We all depend on you — and the world is listening. I’ve just come from around the world.”
The controversy sparked after Kimmel ran a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner segment on his show before the actual event took place and joked that the first lady had a glow “like an expectant widow,” subtly hinting at the President and Melania’s age gap. The president termed the joke “despicable” and a “call to violence,” demanding that the network fire Kimmel immediately.
“When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the lowest-rated shows on television?” the president wrote on Truth Social, adding, “people are angry. It better be soon!!!”
The backlash intensified because the joke aired just days before a real security incident/shooting scare at the Correspondents’ Dinner. Nevertheless, Kimmel has refused to apologise for the joke, saying that he was exercising his First Amendment rights, and called the president a “hypocrite” for championing free speech while opposing cancel culture during his presidential campaign.
Melania has also called for Kimmel’s firing on social media, labeling him a “coward” who is protected by ABC, and arguing that his monologues are not comedy.
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