Disney CEO faces first Trump test as President and Melania demand ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel over ‘expectant widow’ joke
New Disney chief Josh D’Amaro, who is just six weeks into the job, is trying to weather his first major political crisis after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump publicly called on ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke that took on new significance in the wake of Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
New Disney CEO Enters Political Storm Over Kimmel Controversy
Josh D’Amaro, who took over as Disney chief executive from Bob Iger six weeks ago, faces his first major test from the Trump administration after the president and first lady separately asked ABC to remove Kimmel from its broadcasts.
D’Amaro, who previously ran Disney’s theme parks division and now oversees the company’s broadcast networks including ABC, is facing a controversy involving the White House, pro-Trump media and influential affiliate station owners.
There is no indication that Disney is considering firing Kimmel. However, the coordinated pressure campaign put D’Amaro in an extremely uncomfortable position at the beginning of his term.
What Kimmel Said and Why It Was Explosive After WHCD Shooting
The controversy stems from a segment that appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show before the Correspondents’ Dinner on Thursday; In this episode, Kimmel staged a mock version of the event as he booked mentalist Oz Pearlman instead of a comedian as the dinner entertainer.
During the ending, Kimmel imagined addressing the First Lady directly. “Mrs. Trump, you shine like a pregnant widow,” he said, an apparent reference to the president’s age and health. That line was one of many barbs directed at Trump and his family throughout the episode.
Kimmel also performed an impression that included Jeffrey Epstein introducing Melania Trump to her future husband; It was a potentially disturbing reference, considering the first lady recently held a surprise press conference to deny rumors that she was linked to Epstein’s promotions.
The “widow-in-waiting” discourse took on a different dimension after a gunman opened fire in front of the ballroom during the Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening.
Alleged gunman Cole Allen was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate the president. Melania Trump dived under the table during the incident, and the president later called it “a pretty traumatic experience” for her.
Speaking on 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump described the moment he and his wife reacted to the shooting. “My thought was, ‘You know, I’ve been through this a few times before, but not this much,'” he said. “He understood. He knew what happened. He listened.”
Trump and Melania call for Kimmel to be fired
In a post on social media Monday afternoon, Trump described the comedian’s joke as “truly shocking” and “far beyond the norm,” calling it a “despicable call to violence” and directly linking it to the shooting. He concluded: “Jimmy Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC.”
Melania Trump made a post earlier the same day. “His monologue about my family is not comedy,” he wrote. “His words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness in America.” He described Kimmel as “a coward who should not have the opportunity to break into our homes every night to spread hate” and added that he “hid behind ABC because he knew the network would continue to hide to protect him.” He concluded: “Enough is enough. It’s time for the ABC to take a stand.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also weighed in on the issue in her briefing on Monday. “This type of rhetoric about the President, the First Lady and their supporters is completely unbalanced,” he said. “It’s incredible that the American people consume it every night.”
ABC Has Been Here Before: Suspension in September 2025
For Disney, the situation echoes a nearly identical incident last September, when ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel’s show following conservative backlash over comments he made about the man accused of shooting right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The network did not initially announce its decision, although it came under pressure from the Trump administration.
At the time, Trump described the broadcast suspension as “Great News for America” and later suggested that channels whose presenters criticized him should lose their broadcast licenses. Kimmel was back on the air within a week, and the network had angered both sides: Trump opponents thought ABC had capitulated, while Trump supporters were unhappy with Kimmel’s reinstatement.
The suspension comes after Nexstar and Sinclair, two major owners of ABC affiliate stations, said they would prevent Kimmel’s show in their markets. Iger aide Dana Walden, who has a close relationship with Kimmel and currently serves as D’Amaro’s second-in-command as Disney’s president and chief creative officer, later explained the thinking behind the decision.
“We wanted to resolve the situation in a certain way to protect our employees and think about our audience,” he told Bloomberg at the time.
Nexstar and Sinclair remain in business with ABC and are on record as having reservations about Kimmel’s show. But both companies may be reluctant to repeat their boycott given the intensity of the backlash they faced last September.
Kimmel Prepares for Monday Night Broadcast Amid Uncertainty
Behind the scenes on Monday, ABC executives and Kimmel were understood to have been discussing how he might address the controversy on that evening’s show, which will air on ABC stations at 11:35 p.m.
The show was originally set to feature a special guest appearance by Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to perform at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner before filming. Pearlman later withdrew from the appearance. He was replaced by liberal comedian and podcaster Jon Lovett, who previously served as President Barack Obama’s speechwriter and has appeared on the show multiple times. Actor Anthony Anderson, who was announced to be the guest, also remained in the program.
Kimmel, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump for several years and has attended No Kings rallies in recent months, expressed his take on political commentary while appearing on Michelle Obama’s “IMO” podcast earlier this month.
“I think it would be a shame if we didn’t talk about it. It would be a shame,” he said.
