I’m a professional political writer: PJ Media pays me to analyze politics, culture, news, and entertainment. Our business relationship isn’t complicated: I write it, and PJ Media publishes it.
But it’s a high-risk job on all sides. When you opine about controversial topics like race, gender, public policy, and war, you’ll inevitably offend someone. (And not always deliberately!)
Question: If I write something that millions of PJ Media readers find offensive, disgusting, and gross, whose fault is it?
Maybe it’s the audience’s fault. If you guys misinterpreted what I wrote, then I’m blameless. Hey, that’s on you people. Can’t blame me for the misinterpretations of others. Right?
Wrong!
It’s my fault. As a professional writer, it’s my job to communicate to my audience.
That’s literally what I’m paid to do!
Which means, if my PJ Media column is misinterpreted by millions of readers, then I failed at my job. Claiming otherwise is a copout.
As a professional writer, it’s my responsibility to communicate clearly.
Similarly, Jimmy Kimmel is a professional comedian and late-night host for ABC Television, a subsidiary of Disney Corp. Kimmel is (handsomely) paid to communicate to ABC’s audience about politics, culture, news, and entertainment, too.
Last week, 48 hours before yet another assassination attempt against President Donald Trump, Kimmel said the following:
Jimmy Kimmel delivered a fake White House Correspondents Dinner speech, saying "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow." pic.twitter.com/o4a59eYnZl
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) April 26, 2026
It’s not the first time his monologue about political violence and murder has landed him in hot water. From Sept. 17 through Sept. 22, 2025, Kimmel was suspended by ABC for spreading misinformation about Charlie Kirk’s death, falsely insinuating that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA loyalist (among other things):
These are the comments that led to Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air.
— Blue Georgia (@BlueGeorgia) September 18, 2025
"The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it, in between the… pic.twitter.com/orTluWTRyD
After Kimmel’s most recent “joke” about the death of his political enemies, First Lady Melania Trump went public with her disgust:
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.
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 27, 2026
People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to…
Meanwhile, the mainstream media rallied to Kimmel’s defense. Hat-tip to CNN for leading the way with the most absurdly biased story framing imaginable:
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel found himself defending Americans’ right to free speech on Monday, after a joke he made several days ago prompted calls from the White House for ABC to fire him – again.
“You know sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job? We’ve all been there, right?” Kimmel asked at the beginning of his monologue on Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“What a day.”
That’s how the mainstream media — and Kimmel himself — are trying to frame the controversy. It’s simply a question of Free Speech — so bravo, Jimmy, for defending it!
CNN’s coverage continued:
“I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject,” Kimmel said. “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.”
Kimmel is wrong: The First Amendment doesn’t entitle Americans “to say whatever” we want. Nor does it protect us from the consequences of our speech.
Furthermore, the First Amendment doesn’t guarantee us the right to be platformed by a private company.
I don’t have the First Amendment right “to say whatever” I want on PJ Media. If I offend millions of readers with my political analysis, PJ Media can fire me — even if what I’m saying is 100% truthful.
But it’s not just a phantom First Amendment privilege that Kimmel is asserting. He’s also arguing that it’s the audience’s fault for misunderstanding his hilarious “joke” about Mrs. Trump.
Kimmel described the joke during his Monday night monologue as being about the Trumps' age difference, calling it "a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am. 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. But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend. ... And also, 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."
See? It wasn’t a joke about her husband dying; it was just a cute, harmless little joke about their age difference!
(Of course, Kimmel’s punchline was how happy Melania Trump will be when her husband is dead — and after dodging his third assassination attempt in three years, if President Trump were to die suddenly and unexpectedly, odds are excellent that it came at the hands of an assassin.)
This time around, some of Kimmel’s biggest boosters in the Democratic Party are actually advising him to apologize:
I like @jimmykimmel. He's funny & courageous at a time when there has been too much cowardice.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) April 27, 2026
That said, this WAS a tasteless joke.
The WH will use any issue to demand he be fired because his satire touches a nerve, and ABC is right to resist.
But he'd be right to apologize. https://t.co/qfAN6ySaQh
But he can’t apologize because doing so would kill his counterargument. If it’s the audience’s fault for misinterpreting his hilarious joke — and if he has the First Amendment right to say whatever he wants anyway — then there’s no reason for him to apologize.
Kimmel’s smartest PR move is to fold his arms and insist he did nothing wrong. Ceding even an inch would expose him to the consequences of his actions — and probably cost him his job.
I mean, it’s not like he has to worry about losing conservative viewers. He doesn’t have any! Kimmel is a left-wing entertainer who delivers left-wing content to a left-wing audience. Conservatives don’t matter.
Can’t lose what you don’t have.
Besides, there’s no mea culpa that would satisfy Kimmel’s critics. Staying the course is his best option. (Probably his only option.)
But what’s good for Kimmel is utterly disastrous for Disney. Yes, Kimmel’s late-night audience is (very) left-wing, but Disney’s films, TV shows, amusement parks, toys, games, Marvel I.P.s, sports properties (including ESPN), streaming platforms, and more require conservative audiences to survive.
Which means, the crisis communications strategy that’s right for Kimmel is wrong for Disney.
In the grand scheme of things, Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t generate enough eyeballs, interest, or (most importantly) income to make a dent in Disney’s portfolio. The House of Mouse has a helluva lot more riding on the upcoming NFL season — or the next Avengers movie — than Jimmy Kimmel’s third-place TV show and his 2.17 million ABC viewers.
Kimmel’s ratings were down 5% in March. He now trails Stephen Colbert on CBS (2.4 million viewers) and Greg Gutfeld on Fox News (3.53 million viewers). For an enormous conglomerate like Disney, there comes a point when the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
So why hasn’t Disney fired Kimmel yet?
Because firing Kimmel has negative consequences, too. It’ll infuriate left-wingers — not just in Kimmel’s audience, but the left-wing actors, directors, celebrities, and content creators that Disney wants to keep happy.
Disney stars Mark Ruffalo, Pedro Pascal speak out to support Jimmy Kimmel https://t.co/nDCHtKUrkX
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 22, 2025
Disney’s next Avengers flick stars Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk and Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic. The company wants Ruffalo, Pascal, and others focused on putting butts in seats — and not attacking Disney for “breaking America.”
Plus, there’s the very real risk of Democratic Party blowback. One way or another, the Dems will regain power. Could be in the midterms, could be later, but the pendulum ALWAYS swings back. When it does, the Dems have made it clear: Companies that accommodated President Trump will be in the crosshairs.
From MS NOW: Democrats Aim to Make Corporate America Rethink Trump Deals
For now, Democrats are in the minority — limited to issuing strongly worded letters and exercising a mostly toothless investigative authority to rein in a president who has applied a maximalist approach to executive authority. But with increasingly rosy prospects for the party to win back the House in 2026, Democratic lawmakers are laying the groundwork for a sweeping expansion of oversight targeting the companies and CEOs who have done business with the Trump family, or sought favorable regulatory treatment, merger approval, or policy changes from the administration — from Paramount to Palantir.
It is a strategy that Democrats believe could reshape corporate America’s relationship with Trump: By threatening future investigations into companies that curry favor with the administration, they hope to make CEOs think twice before opening their wallets or bending to presidential pressure.
So Disney’s hands are tied. The company can’t make a move (yet). Which is why Mickey Mouse is playing his fiddle as his Magic Kingdom burns.
Disney’s crisis communications strategy, I assume, is to first see if Kimmel’s latest scandal blows over. Hey, the last one did; perhaps this one will, too. The 24/7 news cycle might work in Disney’s favor.
In PR, procrastination is a legitimate tactic. Sometimes, if you ignore a problem, it goes away on its own.
Maybe the garbage will take itself out!
But if that doesn’t work, expect Disney to finally sever ties with Kimmel on a Friday evening, a little after 5 p.m. (Friday, May 22 — right before the Memorial Day holiday weekend — would be perfect.) Eventually, even for Disney, enough is enough.
As for Jimmy Kimmel, a friendly word of advice: If you don’t want your jokes to be misunderstood, tell better jokes.
Because that’s YOUR responsibility — and nobody else’s.
One Last Thing: 2026 is a critical year for America First. It began with Mayor Mamdani declaring war on “rugged individualism” and will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the fate of the America First movement teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battle lines been so clearly defined. Win or lose, 2026 will transform our country.
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