Joked at the Wrong Time: ABC Host Calls Melania Trump a 'Future Widow' 0 11

Amid increasing pressure from the Trump administration on television network executives to fire Jimmy Kimmel, Disney-owned television stations are set to undergo an early license review.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that the reviews, which were scheduled to start in October 2028, have been moved to an earlier date.

This decision was made after talk show host Jimmy Kimmel joked about Melania Trump just days before the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting.

On his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC, which is owned by Disney, Kimmel said that the First Lady has "the glow of a future widow."

A Disney representative confirmed that the company received the FCC's directive.

"ABC and its stations have operated in full compliance with FCC rules for many years, serving local communities by providing them with reliable news, emergency information, and programming that serves the public interest," the company stated.

"We are confident that this track record affirms our qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and we are prepared to prove this through appropriate legal channels," the representative added.

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, a Democrat, called the FCC's directive "a political stunt." She wrote, "This is unprecedented, illegal, and will lead to nothing. (...) Companies should challenge it directly. The First Amendment is on their side."

The Freedom of the Press Foundation also characterized the FCC's actions as "an attack on the First Amendment," which guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.