Jimmy Kimmel sparked controversy during the 2026 Academy Awards after taking a swipe at Melania Trump while presenting one of the ceremony’s awards.
The late-night television host appeared on stage at the 98th Oscars to present the awards for Best Documentary Short and Best Documentary Feature. While introducing the category, Kimmel used the moment to make a joke about a recent documentary centred on Melania Trump.
Referring to the film, Kimmel joked that Donald Trump would likely be upset that his wife’s documentary had not been nominated for an Oscar. He told the audience that the former president was “going to be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” drawing laughter from parts of the crowd inside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
