Mentalist Oz Pearlman will not appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday night, despite previously being scheduled as the embattled comedian’s guest.
Pearlman’s apparent decision to back out comes two days after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, where the entertainer was set to perform magic tricks for the commander-in-chief and attendees — and hours after President Trump and first lady Melania Trump both called for Kimmel’s firing over a “hateful” monologue.
Podcaster Jon Lovett is now listed as Kimmel’s replacement guest on ABC’s website.
Kimmel, 58, mocked the dinner during a sketch on his show last week, where he delivered a fake speech in which he said: “Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
On Monday, following the shooting, the first lady fumed that “People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” Melania wrote on X. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”
“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,” she raged.
The president echoed his wife’s comments in a subsequent social media post calling for Kimmel to be “immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Trump argued Kimmel’s “despicable call to violence” was “beyond the pale.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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