politics
Melania Trump's Adviser Calls for Advertiser Boycott of Jimmy Kimmel's Show Over Parody Skit
Marc Beckman, senior adviser to first lady Melania Trump, called for advertisers to drop Jimmy Kimmel's show and for ABC to terminate his employment. The call follows Melania Trump's criticism of Kimmel's parody at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Beckman cited branding concerns and rising political violence in his statements.
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Marc Beckman, senior adviser to first lady Melania Trump, called for advertisers to drop Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show and urged ABC to cut ties with the host. Beckman, who is also CEO of advertising agency DMA United, stated that ABC should terminate Kimmel's employment. He said, 'Why would ABC stand behind that?
That's the question. Melania Trump called out Jimmy Kimmel for 'hateful and violent rhetoric' in an X post on Monday, labeling him a 'coward' and urging ABC to take a stand. In her post, she wrote, 'His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.
Beckman echoed her sentiments, emphasizing that 'Kimmel should be fired. The parody occurred days prior to an assassination attempt. Kimmel defended his skit, saying it was a joke about age difference and not a call for an assassination.
Beckman framed the issue as one of branding rather than freedom of speech. He said, 'it's not about freedom of speech. Fox News reported that Beckman cited data from The Wall Street Journal's analysis of terrorism incidents compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The data showed that in 2025, left-wing terrorist attacks and plots outnumbered right-wing ones for the first time in more than 30 years. This context was used to underscore the potential impact of Kimmel's rhetoric. Kimmel drew backlash last year over remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killing.
He was briefly suspended from the airwaves following those remarks. Fox News Digital reached out to ABC and representatives for Kimmel but did not immediately receive responses. In March, Melania Trump invited 45 countries for the inaugural 'Fostering the Future Together' global summit.
