FCC Targets ABC Licenses After Jimmy Kimmel Joke About Melania Trump

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered a review of all broadcast licenses held by ABC, the network airing Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following a joke by host Jimmy Kimmel about First Lady Melania Trump. The joke, made during Kimmel's April 23, 2026 monologue, referred to Melania Trump as looking like "a widow waiting to become one." Two days later, a shooting incident outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton led to the evacuation of President Donald Trump and Melania Trump. Melania Trump condemned Kimmel on X, calling his rhetoric violent and divisive. President Trump also called for Kimmel's firing on Truth Social. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who had previously threatened ABC over Kimmel's jokes, stated the license review is related to ABC's diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, though critics note the timing appears retaliatory. Kimmel defended his joke as a commentary on the age gap between the Trumps and invoked First Amendment protections. This is not the first conflict: in September 2025, ABC suspended Kimmel's show after a joke about Charlie Kirk, but Disney reinstated it a week later. The FCC last revoked a broadcast license in 1969.