Jane Fonda's free speech group defends Kimmel amid Trump firing call: 'Satire is not a crime'
Key takeaways
- The right to mock, to challenge, and yes, to offend those in power, is foundational to democracy, it continued.
- The comment came just two nights before a gunman attempted to breach the ballroom at the Washington Hilton as part of what prosecutors allege was a ploy to kill the president.
- The first lady blasted Kimmel in a social media post over his joke on Monday, saying hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Link copied by Dominick Mastrangelo - 04/27/26 5:56 PM ET Link copied NOW PLAYING A free speech group led by Hollywood star Jane Fonda is defending comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who President Trump and first lady Melania Trump said Monday should lose his late-night hosting gig over a joke last week calling the first lady an expectant widow, a dig that came just days before the latest assassination attempt against the president.
The demands to pull Kimmel off ABC s airwaves coming from the White House follow the same old, tired, authoritarian playbook: use the weight of government to pressure media outlets to silence speech it disfavors and chip away at First Amendment protections, the Committee for the First Amendment wrote in a statement.
In America, satire is not a crime. The right to mock, to challenge, and yes, to offend those in power, is foundational to democracy, it continued. From late-night television to political cartoons, comedy has long served as a powerful tool to expose hypocrisy, provoke debate, and drive accountability.