George Clooney defends Jimmy Kimmel after ‘expectant widow’ joke

George Clooney has spoken out in defence of Jimmy Kimmel after Donald and Melania Trump blasted him for his “expectant widow” joke.

George Clooney has defended Jimmy Kimmel after his “expectant widow” comment about Melania Trump.

The 64-year-old Hollywood star has spoken out after backlash over the late night chat show host’s joke about Donald Trump’s First Lady, which aired just two days before an alleged assassination attempt against the US President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday (25.04.26).

According to Variety, George addressed the controversy at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala as he compared the comments to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hyping up the president’s speech before the dinner, when she quipped there would be “some shots fired in the room tonight”.

George said: “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.”

His comments come after Kimmel’s parody of the dinner broadcast, in which he referenced Melania’s appearance and upcoming birthday.

During the segment, he said: “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

He added: “You know, Melania’s birthday is on Sunday. She’s planning to celebrate at home the same way she always does, looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’”

Meanwhile, George called on people to “tone down” hyperbolic rhetoric.

He added: “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.”

Elsewhere at the gala, George – who was being honoured for his contributions to cinema – recalled his journalist father urging him to “challenge people with more power” as he called for a “free and fair press”.

He added: “I also think that you’re not supposed to have a good relationship with 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.”

Melanie, 56, and Donald, 79, have both been critical of Jimmy’s comments, while the US President has been a vocal critic of George and his more recent political comments.

The White House criticised his acting abilities following a talk where he accused Donald of war crimes.

Communications director Steven Cheung fired back at the Jay Kelly actor, writing on X: “The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability.”

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Clooney responded: “Families are losing their loved ones. Children have been incinerated. The world’s economy is on a knife’s edge.

“This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels. Not for infantile name-calling.

“I’ll start. A war crime is alleged ‘when there is intent to physically destroy a nation,’ as defined by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute.

“What is the administration’s defense? [besides calling me a failed actor which I happily agree with having starred in Batman and Robin?].

It’s not the first time Clooney and Trump have been at odds, as the US President previously mocked him and his wife Amal for obtaining French citizenship.

Back in January, he wrote: “Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration, much like we had under Sleepy Joe Biden.”

He also branded Clooney “average”, adding: “Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies.

“He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

In response, Clooney told The Hollywood Reporter: “I totally agree with the current president. We have to make America great again. We’ll start in November.”