The Jimmy Kimmel controversy is attracting some of the biggest names in Hollywood. George Clooney spoke out in support of the late-night host amid growing backlash over a joke Kimmel made about Melania Trump, as President Donald Trump continues to call for Kimmel’s firing following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
What George Clooney He said about the dispute
Speaking at the 51st Chaplin Awards, Clooney made a direct comparison between Kimmel’s joke and a remark made by White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt, who told Fox News on the red carpet before dinner that “there will be some shots fired in the room tonight.”“Jimmy is a comedian, and I would argue that Caroline Levitt didn’t mean to shoot. She was joking. Fair enough,” Clooney said.
You look at that side and you say, “Well, jokes are jokes.” But the rhetoric is a bit dangerous. We’ve seen that a lot lately.”It also addressed the broader tone of political discourse. “When one side calls anyone who disagrees with them a traitor to the country, which is a charge punishable by death, just because they don’t agree with someone, I think the rhetoric is very heated,” he added, adding that this kind of hyperbolic language “can be toned down.”
What sparked the controversy?Jimmy Kimmel Live ‘
The backlash stemmed from a clip from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” filmed before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in which Kimmel joked that Melania had a “glow like a pregnant widow.” The clip went viral after a gunman tried to enter the diner on Saturday, April 25.President Trump responded by calling Kimmel’s joke “shocking and dangerous,” especially in the context of the armed man trying to enter the event. He claimed Kimmel “showed a fake video of the First Lady and their son” and called on Disney and ABC to fire him. “He was there for a very clear and evil reason,” Trump said.Melania also issued a response, accusing Kimmel of using “hate speech and violence.” “His monologue about my family is not comedy,” she wrote in a post on X. “His words are disturbing and deepen the political sickness within America.”