By Michaela Gordoni
National Religious Broadcasters has complained to the Federal Communications Commission about the April 23 episode of JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! which it believes incited political violence.
The broadcast showed a parody of the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Dinner. During his monologue, Kimmel said, “Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have the glow of an expectant widow.”
On April 25 at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, there was an attack on President Trump’s life.
NRB said in a press release, “NRB asserts that, in this broader context of escalating violence, rhetoric that appears to trivialize or foreshadow harm against political leaders takes on heightened significance. Incitement to kill or inflict bodily harm on the President of the United States is a serious federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 2385.”
Michael Farris, NRB General Counsel, added, “While the FCC is bound by the First Amendment of the Constitution and federal law (47 U.S.C. § 326) to respect freedom of speech, Supreme Court precedent makes clear that speech which incites violence is not protected. Under Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), speech loses constitutional protection when it encourages lawless action, is intended to produce such action, and is likely to result in imminent harm.”
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NRB points out that America has drifted from moral values and has moved toward violence and extremism. Violence from lone actors doesn’t build up in minutes, hours or a few days. It takes continuous exposure to crude content, violence and dangerous rhetoric that dehumanizes.
NRB President and CEO Troy A. Miller stated, “We should be relieved that lives were spared Saturday evening; but relief can’t become complacency. We’re seeing a pattern of violence in this country that didn’t appear overnight.”
“When influential voices joke about death or treat political opponents as disposable, it contributes to a culture where violence feels thinkable to the already unstable. National platforms carry real weight, and with that comes responsibility. That’s why this warranted action,” Miller added.
NRB requested the FCC conduct a full and impartial investigation into the matter.
Mrs. Trump also called out Kimmel for his “hateful and violent rhetoric.” She added on X, “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”
On Monday, the talk-show host swore that it was just “a pretend roast” far removed from the assassination attempt and that the joke was “about [Melania’s] age difference and the look of joy we see on her face” whenever she and Trump are together.
He added, “Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I, as are all of us. Because under the first amendment we have as Americans a right to free speech.”
Kimmel made similar jokes about Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, The New York Post reported.
After the Whitehouse incident, Trump called for ABC to fire the comedian.
Oz Pearlman, a mentalist, was scheduled to appear on Kimmel’s show. He was also at the Correspondent’s dinner, standing between Trump and Melania when gunfire erupted. He canceled his appearance on Kimmel’s show after the event.
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