Kathy Griffin defends Jimmy Kimmel over Melania ‘widow’ joke: ‘I wish somebody had done this for me’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After a huge row over Jimmy Kimmel’s distasteful joke on Melania Trump, where he mocked the first lady for looking like an ‘expectant widow’ days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting scare, Kathy Griffin has come forward to defend the comedian.
While Griffin extended her support and defended Kimmel, she also expressed her disappointment on not having received similar backing from the industry during her 2017 controversy involving President Donald Trump.
Griffin's comment came after Trump publicly demanded that ABC and its parent company, Disney, fire late-night host Kimmel after his on-air joke.
Kathy Griffin laments lack of support
Griffin, who didn’t have a pleasant experience with the Trump administration after her meme post against the President, came forward to support comedian Kimmel following his latest controversy. However, she also lamented the lack of industry support when she was in a similar situation.
During an episode of the “Talk Your Head Off” podcast on Tuesday, April 28, Griffin defended the Kimmel as she talked about the First Amendment, dedicating a part of her episode to the subject.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits Congress from restricting five core freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
While the comic defended Kimmel’s right to speech, she wished that people stood with her when she was targeted.
“I’m just gonna be honest: It still hurts. It was nine years ago for me… It still hurts that nobody did stuff like this for me where they would dedicate a whole episode to just standing up for the First Amendment,” she said.
"Because my First Amendment rights were truly violated because I had the actual Department of Justice coming after me, not a private company, so that’s what’s happening to Jimmy right now,” Griffin said.
“Man, do I wish somebody had done this for me,” the comedian lamented.
Kathy Griffin defends Jimmy Kimmel over ‘widow’ joke on Melania
In defense of Kimmel, Griffin pointed out, “Now, the joke was made prior to the alleged assassination attempt.”
She further added, “That is the most important thing to remember, so of course the MAGA people are losing their minds, and I guess they think Jimmy Kimmel manifested this or something, which is just funny that they can’t even do a timeline.”
Kimmel’s a “glow like an expectant widow” joke came two days before the reported assassination attempt on President Trump on Saturday, April 25.
During a parody description of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) on an episode of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!,’ Kimmel joked Melania looked like she had a “glow like an expectant widow.”
Kathy Griffin faced action over her controversial post
Griffin faced professional fallout and political harassment after she posted a picture with a severed head in the likeness of President Trump in 2017. Later, the Department of Justice investigated Griffin for conspiracy to assassinate the president.
“So I know firsthand, listen to Aunt Kathy, what it’s like when the president of the United States cries like a baby from the Oval and then engages the Department of Justice, the US attorneys office and the Secret Service to put me on the no-fly list, interrogate me under oath and try seriously to charge me with the crime of conspiracy to assassinate the president of the United States,” Griffin revisited the experience.
