By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-02 06:57:07 | Updated at 2026-06-13 10:20:10
1 week ago
Liberal comedian Jimmy Kimmel revealed a joke he regretted apologizing for after his recent bouts with Donald Trump.
Kimmel has tussled with Trump throughout his White House tenure. He was even suspended after an insensitive remark over the death of Charlie Kirk late last year.
Now in a new profile for New York Magazine, the comedian admitted that while he doesn't 'consider an apology to be a defeat' he has apologized for jokes he wishes he hadn't.
In 2013, Kimmel faced outrage and even mass protests over a sketch where he asked young children the solutions to national problems and one suggested that we 'kill everyone in China.'
More than 105,000 people signed a White House petition calling for an apology after the show, which Kimmel tearfully delivered.
But, 13 years later, Kimmel says that his heart was never in saying sorry.
'For the good of the Disney company, I took that bullet,' he said, ultimately regretting having apologized at all.
Chinese-American groups protested outside the California headquarters of ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney Company, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry complained.
Liberal comedian Jimmy Kimmel says he 'took a bullet' for the good of the Disney company over a joke made in 2013
Kimmel delivered a tearful apology after suggesting that we 'kill everyone in China'
While at no point did Kimmel agree with the sentiment of the young children, he did eventually apologize.
'I thought it was obvious that I didn't agree with that statement, but apparently it wasn't,' Kimmel said at the time.
'So I just want to say I am sorry. I apologize. It was certainly not my intent to upset anyone.'
The White House under Barack Obama even commented on the controversy, saying that it protects free speech.
Nowadays, Kimmel is battling it out with a much more hostile White House.
Trump's war with ABC over a recent Kimmel joke has stepped up a notch as the FCC ordered an early review of the network's television license.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates broadcasters, made the move after the president railed against the comedian online.
Kimmel has been criticized for claiming the First Lady looked like 'an expectant widow' days before shots were fired at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
However, 13 years later, Kimmel said that his heart was never in saying sorry
Nowadays, Kimmel is battling it out with a much more hostile White House. Trump's war with ABC over a recent Kimmel joke about First Lady Melania Trump has stepped up a notch as the FCC ordered an early review of the network's television license
The comedian has since claimed the joke was a reference to the 24-year age gap between Melania, 56, and Donald Trump, who will turn 80 this month.
Trump blasted the joke as 'beyond the pale' and called for Kimmel to be 'immediately fired by Disney and ABC', while MAGA loyalists described it as 'sick and tasteless'.
In the Vulture profile, Kimmel openly joked about 'how they're going to figure out a way to blame this on me' while writing his monologue following the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
He also made a somewhat surprising remark that he took a perverse excitement in the chaos following the attempted shooting, comparing it to his love of pranks.
'It's the purity of it. I like watching people in their real environments, speaking like they really do. I loved watching people in the White House Correspondents' Dinner after the threat had been eliminated, because I like to see what people are really like when they're unguarded.'
Soon after, the FCC ordered early reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations, marking a sharp escalation of the administration's fight with major media outlets.
The reviews could lead to the FCC, which is led by Trump loyalist Brendan Carr, to revoke the stations' licenses and ultimately take them off the airwaves.
It's the first crisis faced by Disney's new CEO Josh D'Amaro, who must now decide how to respond to mounting pressure to fire Kimmel.
Kimmel in his skit from where he made fun of Melania, in which he joked about the glitzy White House Correspondents' Dinner
'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?''
Kimmel's sketch where he called Melania an 'expectant widow' involved a parody of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner two days before the event.
'Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,' Kimmel said before turning his attention to the First Lady's birthday.
Melania responded by slamming 'Kimmel's hateful and violent rhetoric' which she claimed was 'intended to divide our country'.
'His monologue about my family isn't comedy - his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,' the First Lady wrote on X Monday morning.
She called on ABC to 'take a stand' against Kimmel, while the president went further by saying he should be 'immediately fired'.
'I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale,' he wrote on Truth Social.
'Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.'
MAGA loyalists echoed the outrage on social media, with some slamming the joke as 'sick and tasteless' while others decried Kimmel as 'evil'.
In 2013, Kimmel faced outrage and even mass protests over a sketch where he asked young children the solutions to national problems and one suggested that we 'kill everyone in China.' Both he and network ABC apologized
Kimmel only doubled down on his joke, saying it was clearly pertaining to the 'age difference' between Trump and his wife, not an assassination.
He also condemned the shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner while offering condolences to everyone impacted.
'It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am,' the comedian said.
'It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that.'
'I've been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular,' he added.
'But I understand that the First Lady had a stressful experience over the weekend and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house.'
Kimmel then twisted Melania's words to criticize her husband again.
'I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it,' he quipped.
Kimmel then pointed out that both he and Donald Trump were legally protected by the First Amendment.
