George Clooney speaks in support of Jimmy Kimmel amid Melania Trump joke outcry
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "George Clooney speaks in support of Jimmy Kimmel amid Melania Trump joke outcry")
File images of George Clooney and Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel is facing severe criticism over a joke he made about First Lady Melania Trump days before the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Now actor George Clooney has spoken out in support of Kimmel.
George Clooney has spoken out in defence of late-night host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel after he faced backlash over a controversial joke about First Lady Melania Trump. Kimmel referred to the US first lady as an ‘expectant widow’ days before a shooting incident took place during the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The joke sparked outrage with US President Donald Trump asking ABC to terminate Kimmel.
Amid the backlash, George Clooney has stepped in to defend the comedian.
George Clooney supports Jimmy Kimmel
Clooney reportedly addressed the incident at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, where the actor was being honoured on Monday.
The actor compared the backlash directed toward Kimmel to another remark by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that was taken out of context.
Leavitt had spoken to Fox News just before the White House Correspondents Dinner and had said “there will be some shots fired tonight in the room”, which appeared to refer to the jokes written for the event. Clooney referred to the two incidents and asserted that hyperbolic rhetoric “can be toned down.”
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Also read: ‘Enough is enough’: Melania Trump presses ABC to act on Jimmy Kimmel after ‘expectant widow’ joke
“Jimmy’s a comedian, and I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn’t mean shots should be fired. She was making a joke. Fair enough. You look at that side and go, ’Well, jokes are jokes.’ But the rhetoric is a little dangerous. And we’ve seen it a lot lately. When one side is calling anyone, they disagree with traitors to the country, which is a charge that’s punishable by death, just because they don’t agree with someone, I think the rhetoric is a little too heated,” Clooney said.
The actor added, “I always have faith in the press. I always believe in it. I’m the son of a journalist, you know? I also think that you’re not supposed to have a good relationship with the government. You’re supposed to be questioning them. The people that I support- the Democrats. So, I’m a Democrat. I make no apologies for it. The people that I support – Bill Clinton, Barack Obama – they didn’t enjoy getting chased down by reporters. People in power don’t like to have to answer all the questions in the world. That’s fair. They shouldn’t enjoy it. And the reporters should make sure that they hold people’s feet to the fire. That’s the rules.”
What did Jimmy Kimmel say?
Kimmel’s joke came days before a shooting incident rocked the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. A gunman attempted to breach a checkpoint with the intent to assassinate President Donald Trump and other members of his administration. He was taken into custody at the location.
A few days before the incident, Kimmel had ridiculed the dinner during his show, delivering a speech in which he remarked: “Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you glow an expectant widow.”
First Lady Melania Trump also reacted to the joke and condemned Jimmy Kimmel, labelling him a "coward".
She wrote, “Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America. People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
President Donald Trump urged ABC to terminate Jimmy Kimmel's employment following the comedian's remark. ABC has not yet released any statement regarding the issue.
