Megyn Kelly Backtracks on Trump, Calls His Demand to Fire Jimmy Kimmel 'Very Inappropriate' Amid Escalating Feud
Megyn Kelly backtracked on Donald Trump and called his demand to fire Jimmy Kimmel 'very inappropriate.'
May 2 2026, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
Megyn Kelly turned on Donald Trump, calling his demand to fire Jimmy Kimmel "very inappropriate" in a surprising reversal, Breaking Celebrity News can reveal.
The conservative commentator criticized the president for pushing a network to punish a comedian over a joke about Melania Trump.
Kelly Breaks With Trump
Trump demanded ABC fire Kimmel, calling him 'seriously unfunny' in a fiery post.
During Thursday's episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly addressed Trump's push directly.
"It's very inappropriate," Kelly, 55, declared. "The president of the United States should not be calling for any private company to fire any employee, especially over free speech."
Kelly also noted she found the joke itself "out of line."
Trump Renews Call to Fire Kimmel
Kelly said the president 'should not be calling' for a comedian to lose his job over free speech.
Trump, 79, publicly called for ABC to cancel the late-night host for the second time in less than a week.
"When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the lowest-rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Kelly Calls Out ABC's Double Standard
Kimmel fired back at Trump, mocking his ratings during his late-night monologue.
Kelly pointed to the network's past actions while discussing how ABC has handled similar controversies.
"ABC set the rules for how we engage in cancel culture. They have lots of examples. They've got many scalps on their wall," she said.
"And if we're gonna go by ABC/Disney's standards, then it's not good news for Jimmy. You know, the standard has to be applied even when the person offended is a Republican," Kelly continued. "But of course, ABC doesn't really operate that way."
Kimmel Fires Back as Feud Escalates
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Kelly pointed to ABC's past firings, saying the network has 'many scalps on their wall.'
Kelly's comments came during a conversation with The Man Show co-creator Adam Carolla, who weighed in on the joke.
"It's a pretty typical roast joke," Carolla said. "When you make a joke, and then nothing happens—like, there was no shooting. No one made a thing about it before the shooting."
Kimmel responded during his Thursday monologue.
"If incompetently presiding over not just one of, but the lowest ratings in history is the reason I should be fired, we should both be out of a job, because you're not doing too good either," Kimmel said.
Her comments also come after Trump previously lashed out at her and other conservative figures he viewed as disloyal.
"It's easy! Tucker is a low-IQ person - Always easy to beat, and highly overrated!!! So are Megyn Kelly, 'Candace' (Really Dumb and mentally ill!), and Bankrupt Alex Jones, who is completely 'fried'," Trump wrote in response to a CNN segment about his ratings.
