PoliticsJimmy Kimmel's 2-Word Reaction to Melania Trump's Widow Meltdown Revealed
John Oliver revealed the two-words Jimmy Kimmel used in a group text following the MAGA backlash over the Melania Trump 'widow' joke.
May 12 2026, Updated 2:11 p.m. ET
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel revealed how he responded to the backlash over his "widow" joke.
According to fellow late-night host John Oliver, who spoke on the Monday, May 11, episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Kimmel used those words to describe the surge of criticism and calls for his firing that he woke up to following Melania Trump's statement.
Kimmel described waking up to a "Twitter vomit-storm" following a conservative media firestorm that characterized his joke as a "call to assassination."
According to Oliver, Kimmel, who was also on the Colbert show along with fellow hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, messaged a group chat of his fellow comedians with, “Oh, boy.”
Jimmy Kimmel made a remark about Melania Trump being a 'widow.'
“You know what’s even weirder? Doing a job that his wife has strong feelings about,” Kimmel said.
“Most of us have avoided that part,” joked Meyers.
“It’s an amazing thing to get a text from Jimmy saying, ‘Oh, boy,’ and then a picture of Melania mad at him. What a way to start the day!” Oliver quipped.
Fallon then added, “And then I sent a text to you guys, and I said, ‘Hey, don’t be mad at me, but I liked it.’ I think she’s got a point.”
Jimmy Kimmel typically makes fun of Donald Trump.
“We’re all kind of happy when you get in trouble over there, and how do you feel when you wake up, and you see the attention?” Colbert asked.
“The saddest part of it is that I realize in those moments that the only four people who care are sitting right here,” Kimmel said. “It takes 12 hours for the rest of the people in my life to even figure out that anything’s going on.”
The controversy centered on a parody White House Correspondents' Dinner roast Kimmel performed several days earlier, in which he told the first lady she had "a glow like an expectant widow.”
“Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said during the sketch three days before the drama at the Hilton in D.C.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
The FLOTUS condemned the joke.
The backlash intensified because the joke aired just days before a shooting incident occurred near the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Kimmel defended the remark as a "light roast" focused on the 23-year age difference between the president and first lady.
The FLOTUS condemned the joke as "hateful and violent rhetoric" and called for ABC and Disney to fire him.
The late-night show's rating are up amid the chaos.
The comedian argued the joke was not a "call to assassination" and suggested that if the first lady wanted to dial back violent rhetoric, she should "have a conversation with your husband about it.”
Regardless of the backlash, Jimmy Kimmel Live! ratings are up, with the show posting double-digit gains.
Despite public criticism from MAGA, he has experienced a recent ratings surge, including a 92 percent increase in specific weekly demos.
