When cameras stopped rolling last Thursday night, Jimmy Kimmel doubtless knew he had poked the bear.
The late night host – dressed in a tuxedo behind a faux podium – had joked about First Lady Melania Trump having ‘the glow of an expectant widow’ at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in a mock speech that aired just two days before the real event.
Unbeknownst to him, an armed gunman would try to storm the dinner at the Washington Hilton ballroom in what authorities believe was an assassination attempt against President Donald Trump and his cabinet members.
In the wake of the incident, both Melania and her husband have urged ABC – which airs Jimmy Kimmel Live! – to fire the comic, who had previously drawn heavy criticism from the president for harsh remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murder – comments that saw him suspended by the network for a week last September.
It might be surprising, then, that the 58-year-old is not sweating his cushy on-air gig, as multiple insiders who spoke to the Daily Mail have claimed.
A source close to Kimmel, who earns a reported $15 million a year, put it bluntly: ‘We don’t care.’
The late night host – dressed in a tuxedo behind a faux podium – had joked about First Lady Melania Trump having ‘the glow of an expectant widow’ at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in a mock speech that aired just two days before the real event
Two days after his skit aired, a gunman attempted to storm the dinner
Kimmel was seen Monday pulling up to set in his Audi
In fact, Kimmel and his team were having a ‘good laugh’ about the complaints from the White House, according to the source, who said that ‘these people are so thin-skinned.’
They added: ‘These people can dish it out and they can’t take it at all – they’re the real snowflakes.’
On Monday, Kimmel appeared cool and composed as he broke cover in Los Angeles amid the controversy. In new photos, he was spotted arriving to the set of his show in his Audi, wearing dark shades with his wife Molly McNearney in tow.
Earlier that day, the First Lady had issued a statement in which she condemned Kimmel as a ‘coward’ and implored ABC to ‘take a stand,’ adding that ‘people like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.’
Kimmel, she added, ‘hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.’
Our first source said: ‘They can do whatever they want and say whatever they want, but when something is clearly a joke, they want it censored by the network.’
‘Trump says the most unhinged s**t about everyone, but the minute a joke is at his expense, he and his family lose their s**t,’ they added. ‘Anyone who has worked in late night for a long time knows that everyone gets it.’
Indeed such backlash by the White House came as no surprise to Kimmel and Disney, the parent company of ABC, a second source said.
In new photos, he was spotted arriving to the set of his show in his Audi, wearing dark shades with his wife Molly McNearney in tow
Such backlash by the White House came as no surprise to Kimmel and Disney, the parent company of ABC, a second source said
‘”Bring it on” is the mentality that Jimmy is living by, as he finds it so absurd that the president and the first lady are worrying about jokes and a late night host over the country and potentially being killed this weekend,’ said the insider.
‘Jimmy has already dealt with all that Trump has thrown at him,’ they continued. ‘ABC and Disney aren’t looking to fire him or suspend him again after Melania’s tirade.’
Kimmel, the source added, emerged from his September 2025 suspension ‘with the belief that ABC wasn’t going to screw with him anymore, and that seems to be the case now.’
Both ABC and Disney are focused on multiple factors about a year ahead of Kimmel’s contract expiring in May of 2027, the insider noted.
‘They both are going to stand by his contract and then from that point make a decision to see if they should continue,’ they said. ‘We’ll see where the relationship and the ratings are next year and see if another extension might take place, or they can all see if they want to do something else altogether.’
In fact, both sides would likely benefit from letting Kimmel continue working through the end of his contract, the insider added.
They said: ‘It would be the easy way out for both of them to go their separate ways when his contract is up, and that is the most likely scenario, for Jimmy to ride off in the sunset with his tail not beneath his legs and where Disney could come off unscathed themselves not having to let him go.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Kimmel, Disney and ABC for comment.
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