In The Know Jimmy Kimmel takes swipe at ‘Melania’ documentary at Oscars by Judy Kurtz - 03/15/26 10:07 PM ET by Judy Kurtz - 03/15/26 10:07 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Jimmy Kimmel is returning to the Oscars stage with a dig at President Trump and Melania Trump, and a free speech-related knock at CBS. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” personality, who hosted the Academy Awards four times, took to the stage on Sunday in Los Angeles to present Oscars in a pair of documentary film categories. “We hear a lot about courage at shows like this, but telling a story that could get you killed for telling it is real courage,” Kimmel said on the ABC broadcast. “As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which,” Kimmel continued. “Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS,” Kimmel quipped to applause. Skydance — which is owned by David Ellison, the son of close President Trump ally and billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison —  purchased the CBS  parent company Paramount last year. Since the merger, some Democrats and media critics accused Paramount of retooling CBS in order to advance the Ellisons’ business interests. “Fortunately for all of us, there is an international community of filmmakers dedicated to telling the truth, oftentimes at great risk, to make films that teach us, that call out injustice, that inspire us to take action,” Kimmel said. “And there are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes,” Kimmel added. The joke appeared to be aimed at Melania Trump, with the first lady’s footwear the focus of several shots in “Melania,” her  Amazon documentary  released earlier this year. After presenting the Oscar for Documentary Short Film to “All the Empty Rooms,” a film about the bedrooms of school shooting victims, Kimmel turned to the Documentary Feature Film category. “Oh man,” Kimmel said, seemingly referring to Trump. “Is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” Kimmel cracked. Kimmel and Trump have been engaged in a years-long feud. The late-night host frequently pokes fun at the former president, who targets him on social media.]long feuded in the public eye. Last year,  Trump lauded  ABC for temporarily pulling Kimmel off the air following the late-night TV host’s comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.  In 2024  while hosting  the Academy Awards, Kimmel read Trump’s social media criticism of him live from the stage.  “Has there ever been a worse host than Jimmy Kimmel at the Oscars?” Kimmel said, reading Trump’s social media post.  “Isn’t it past your jail time?” Kimmel then said in a comment directed at Trump. Add as preferred source on Google Tags Charlie Kirk Jimmy Kimmel Larry Ellison Melania Trump Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More In The Know News See All In The Know Javier Bardem sports anti-war pin, says ‘free Palestine’ at Oscars by Judy Kurtz 5 hours ago In The Know  /  5 hours ago