Actor George Clooney drew criticism online after defending a joke made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel about First Lady Melania Trump, a remark that aired days before the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as reported by The New York Post.

Clooney addressed the controversy Monday night while attending the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, where he was asked about Kimmel’s comments. According to Variety, Clooney responded by defending the nature of comedic remarks.

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LAS VEGAS - APR 21: Jimmy Kimmel at the Keep It Clean Comedy Benefit For Waterkeeper at the Avalon Hollywood on April 21, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA

“Jimmy’s a comedian, and I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn’t mean shots should be fired,” Clooney said. “She was making a joke. Fair enough. You look at that side and go, ’Well, jokes are jokes.’ But the rhetoric is a little dangerous. And we’ve seen it a lot lately.”

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Clooney also referenced recent incidents involving violence and stated that such actions have no place in public life.

“There’s no place” for the violence that occurred at the Washington event, he said, before adding, “Nor is there a room for this kind of violence in Minnesota with Alex Pretti or Renée Good.”

The comments followed a segment from Kimmel’s show in which he delivered a line about the first lady during a skit tied to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said during the segment.

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Kimmel later defended the remark, describing it as part of a comedic routine.

He said the performance was “a pretend roast” and stated that the joke was “about [Melania’s] age difference and the look of joy we see on her face” when she is with President Donald Trump.

The response from the Trump family was critical of the segment. The first lady addressed the comments in a statement posted to X.

“His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she wrote.

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“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough.”

“It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”

President Trump also weighed in, calling for action by the network.

“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

The controversy drew additional attention after mentalist Oz Pearlman canceled a scheduled appearance on Kimmel’s program. Pearlman had been present at the Washington Hilton earlier in the evening of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he had been entertaining guests prior to the shooting.

Clooney’s remarks also prompted a range of responses online, with users reacting to his defense of the comedian.

“Is he deranged or just dumb,” one critic wrote.

“George Clooney is irrelevant. He’s a grumpy, old man,” another commenter said.

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“America can sleep easy tonight knowing George Clooney has weighed in,” a third user added.

“Time to cancel George Clooney. Forever!” another post read. “I will never watch another one of his films.”

Clooney and his wife, Amal Clooney, previously donated $1 million through their Clooney Foundation for Justice to the Southern Poverty Law Center in August 2017, shortly after unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The exchange comes as public debate continues over political rhetoric, comedy, and the tone of commentary surrounding public figures.