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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has stepped up to defend the American right to free speech following backlash from a controversial joke that led to calls from the White House for his dismissal.
“Ever had one of those mornings where you wake up to find the First Lady has issued a statement demanding your termination? We’ve all been there, right?” Kimmel quipped during the opening of his monologue on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, airing today in Australia.
The uproar began when Kimmel made a joke suggesting that Melania Trump had the aura of an “expectant widow,” just days before a gunman opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
President Trump and his supporters have since characterized the joke as inciting violence.
“Let me be clear, there was no intention to incite assassination in any form,” Kimmel clarified in his monologue today.
“And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular.
“I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject.
“I also should point out Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I and as are all of us, because under the First Amendment we have as Americans the right to free speech.”
There is no indication that Disney, which owns ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation), is thinking about firing Kimmel.