Jimmy Kimmel faced yet another backlash for making a joke about Melania and Ivanka Trump. His joke referred to announcer Jon Anik making a name error while announcing the First Lady during the UFC Freedom 250 event. This comes a few months after Kimmel was called out by the White House for making an “expectant widow” joke about Melania during a sketch about a fictionalized WHCD.
Jimmy Kimmel faces backlash over new Melania and Ivanka Trump joke
During the Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue, the host responded to a name mistake made by Anik during the UFC Freedom 250. While announcing, Anik said “First Lady Ivanka” instead of Melania, an error that was mocked by Kimmel. In the video, Kimmel said, “The first lady Ivanka? What? I guess somebody’s birthday wish came true.” However, his joke wasn’t received well, as many criticized him for crossing the line and seemingly alluding to Trump’s past controversial remarks about his daughter.
Over the years, Trump has made bold comments about Ivanka. These include calling her a “piece of ass” and also praising her for having the “best body.” He also once controversially said that if Ivanka weren’t his daughter, he might have dated her. This isn’t the first time Kimmel has made a joke about Trump family members. Earlier, he received massive backlash over his expectant widow joke targeted towards Melania, which he later clarified.
He defended his joke, claiming that it was about the age difference between the political couple. He claims that in no way did it suggest the idea of the president’s assassination. “It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. 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,” he elaborated.
