Kalshi traders sent the odds of Jimmy Kimmel Live! being canceled sharply higher after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump called on ABC and The Walt Disney Company to fire the late-night host over a joke made before the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
The price for Jimmy Kimmel Live's cancellation this year has been volatile, jumping as high as 45% before dropping back to 27%, and has since climbed back to 41%.
While the market seems uncertain of Kimmel’s future, traders currently seem confident that the late-night host will not back down from the joke in question. The market for Kimmel issuing an apology this year saw a small jump to 17% before dropping to 15%.
The joke
Kimmel is now in the hot seat due to a joke he told on Thursday during his monologue. It featured a staged version of the annual press dinner where Kimmel referred to Melania as having "a glow like an expectant widow."
Two days later, a gunman attempted to assassinate President Trump and members of his cabinet at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C.
Reactions
President Trump and the first lady were not happy with Kimmel's remark following the events of Saturday's dinner in Washington.
Variety reported that President Trump released a statement on his Truth Social account criticizing Kimmel, writing that he is "in no way funny as attested to by his Terrible Ratings" and had "made a statement on his Show that is really shocking."
Trump also criticized Kimmel for using footage of Melania and his son Barron between the monologue jokes, as if they were "actually sitting in his studio, listening to him speak, which they weren't, and never would be."
The Washington Post reported that the first lady also released a statement on X calling Kimmel's joke "hateful and violent rhetoric," "corrosive," and deepening "the political sickness within America."
"People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," Melania wrote. "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."
Kimmel’s first suspension
This is not the first time Kimmel's show has faced political blowback.
Last year, ABC found itself under pressure from TV distributors Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group, as well as FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, to cancel Kimmel's show. The pressure came after the late-night host remarked that leaders of the MAGA movement were "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
Carr appeared on conservative commentator Benny Johnson's podcast vowing to take punitive action against Kimmel, ABC, Disney, and owners of local ABC affiliates if no action was taken, saying, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Hours later, Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would stop carrying Kimmel's show from their local stations, prompting ABC and Disney to remove it from the airwaves. The decision led to advertiser and network boycotts, and the suspension lasted less than a week.
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now predict:
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