Melania Trump urges ABC to 'take stand' on Jimmy Kimmel after widow joke

In a parody aired days before the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Kimmel called Melania an "expectant widow". Melania Trump urges ABC to 'take stand' on Jimmy Kimmel after widow joke Police: Correspondents' dinner suspect charged checkpoint, had multiple weapons Moment Trump escorted out of White House Correspondents' Dinner after suspected gunshots Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Melania Trump attends the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner at a hotel in Washington DC Melania Trump has criticised late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke in which he called her an "expectant widow" just days before a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner she attended with the president. The first lady called Kimmel's remarks "hateful and violent", urging his network, ABC, to take action against his "atrocious behavior". A gunman opened fire at Saturday's dinner, an attack authorities say may have targeted members of the Trump administration. The joke aired on Thursday, as Kimmel parodied the dinner in advance. "Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel said. Grainy surveillance video of suspect running In a post on X on Monday, Melania Trump said "people like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate", and urged ABC to "take a stand". "His monologue about my family isn't comedy - his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America," she said. "How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community." President Trump also weighed in on the issue. In a post on Truth Social on Monday afternoon, Trump said he appreciated that so many were "incensed by Kimmel's" remarks, claiming they were a "call to violence". "[T]his is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC," he wrote. White House to review Trump's security after shooting 'Are we about to die?': Performer describes locking eyes with Trump as they ducked for cover What we're learning about suspected Washington press dinner gunman Kimmel was taken off air last September after he made comments about the shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. In a monologue, Kimmel said the "Maga gang" - a reference to Trump's followers - was trying to "score political points" from the murder of Kirk. His show was reinstated a week later. After returning to the show, Kimmel said he accepted that some people felt his remarks about Kirk's death had been "ill-timed or unclear or maybe both", adding: "I get why you're upset." In the latest incident, a resurfaced clip of Kimmel's Thursday joke sparked backlash on social media after the shooting, with critics accusing the comedian of encouraging political violence. Several conservative social media users called for Kimmel to be taken off air. At a news conference on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticised Kimmel's remarks. "This kind of rhetoric about the president, the first lady and his supporters is completely deranged," she said. Trump - and his wife, Melania - were evacuated unharmed from the gala dinner on Saturday night after a gunman opened fire near a security checkpoint at the event, held at the Washington Hilton. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was tackled by agents near a staircase leading down to a ballroom where the dinner was taking place, with hundreds of journalists, officials and public figures attending. Trump told reporters that the dinner was "a rather traumatic experience" for his wife. The suspect is expected to appear in court on Monday. Guests talk to one another in the dining room following a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington What we know about shooting at White House correspondents' dinner ABC takes Jimmy Kimmel off air over Charlie Kirk comments She has now placed herself squarely into the Epstein story and at odds with the administration, which wants to end the investigation. The first lady denied connections to the late convicted sex offender, telling reporters any claims linking the two "need to end". She called rumours that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump "mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation". President Trump said the US had cancelled plans to send a team to Pakistan for negotiations. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, is said to have worked for a tutoring company for college age students. The fund - which Canadians can invest in directly - will help pay for major infrastructure projects in the country, the prime minister says. Questions have been raised about security at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. King Charles's trip to the US comes at a time of strained relations between Washington and London over the Iran war.