New Disney chief Josh D'Amaro, barely six weeks into the role, is navigating his first major political crisis. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump publicly called on ABC to dismiss late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after a joke gained new significance following Saturday's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD).
New Disney CEO Thrust Into Political Firestorm Over Kimmel Controversy
D'Amaro, who took over from Bob Iger, now faces mounting pressure as the Trump administration demands Kimmel's removal from ABC's airwaves.
D'Amaro, who previously led Disney's theme parks division and now oversees the company's broadcast networks, including ABC, faces a controversy that has drawn in the White House, pro-Trump media and influential affiliate station owners.
There is no indication that Disney is considering dismissing Kimmel. Nevertheless, the coordinated pressure campaign has placed D'Amaro in a deeply uncomfortable position at the outset of his tenure.
What Kimmel Said and Why It Became Explosive After WHCD Shooting
The controversy stems from a segment on Kimmel's programme on the Thursday before the Correspondents' Dinner, in which he staged a mock version of the event since the dinner had booked mentalist Oz Pearlman rather than a comedian as its entertainer.
During the bit, Kimmel imagined addressing the First Lady directly. "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," he said, in an apparent reference to the president's age and health. The line was one of several barbs directed at Trump and his family during the segment.
Kimmel also performed an impression involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein introducing Melania to her future husband, a reference likely to have stung, given that the First Lady had recently held a surprise press appearance to deny rumours connecting Epstein to their introduction.
The "expectant widow" line took on a different dimension after Saturday evening, when a gunman opened fire outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton during the Correspondents' Dinner.
The alleged gunman, Cole Allen, was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the president. Melania dove under a table during the incident, and the president later described it as "a rather traumatic experience" for her.
On Sunday, speaking on 60 Minutes, Trump described the moment he and his wife reacted to the shooting. "Well, my thought was, 'You know, I've been through this before a couple of times,' and she has not, to this extent," he said. "She got it. She knew what was happening. She listened."
Trump and Melania Call for Kimmel's Dismissal
In a social media post on Monday afternoon, Trump described the comedian's joke as "really shocking" and "something far beyond the pale," calling it "a despicable call to violence" and linking it directly to the shooting. He concluded: “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Melania had posted earlier the same day. "His monologue about my family isn't comedy," she wrote. "His words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America." She described Kimmel as "a coward" who "shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," adding that he "hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him." She concluded: "Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also weighed in at her briefing on Monday. "This kind of rhetoric about the president, the first lady, and his supporters is completely deranged," she said. “It's unbelievable that the American people are consuming it night after night after night.”
ABC Has Been Here Before: The September 2025 Suspension
For Disney, the situation carries echoes of a nearly identical episode last September, when ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel's programme following a conservative backlash over remarks he made about the man accused of shooting right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The network did not initially explain its decision, though it came amid pressure from the Trump administration.
At the time, Trump called the suspension "Great News for America" and later suggested that networks whose hosts criticise him should lose their broadcast licences. Kimmel returned to the air within a week, and the network found itself having angered both sides: Trump opponents felt ABC had capitulated. At the same time, Trump supporters were displeased that Kimmel was reinstated.
The suspension came after two major owners of ABC-affiliated stations, Nexstar and Sinclair, said they would preempt Kimmel's programme in their respective markets. Iger's deputy Dana Walden, who has a close relationship with Kimmel and now serves as D'Amaro's second-in-command as president and chief creative officer of Disney, later explained the thinking behind the decision.
"We wanted to resolve the situation in a certain way to protect our employees, to think about our audience," she told Bloomberg at the time.
Nexstar and Sinclair remain in business with ABC and are on record as having reservations about Kimmel's programme. However, both companies may be reluctant to repeat their boycott given the intensity of the backlash they faced last September.
Kimmel Prepares Monday Night Broadcast Amid Uncertainty
Behind the scenes on Monday, ABC executives and Kimmel were understood to be in discussions about how he might address the controversy on that evening's programme, set to air at 11:35pm on ABC stations.
The show had originally been set to feature Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to perform at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner before the shooting, as a special guest. Pearlman subsequently withdrew from the appearance. He was replaced by Jon Lovett, the liberal comedian and podcaster who previously served as a speechwriter for President Barack Obama and has appeared on the programme multiple times. Actor Anthony Anderson, who had also been announced as a guest, remained on the schedule.
Kimmel, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump for several years and has attended No Kings rallies in recent months, addressed his approach to political commentary earlier this month during an appearance on Michelle Obama's podcast "IMO."
"I think it would be embarrassing if we didn't talk about this. It would be shameful," he said.
