‘Oh man, is he going to be mad?’ Jimmy Kimmel jabs at Trump over Melania documentary at Oscars

While presenting the documentary award at the Academy Awards, comedian and television host Jimmy Kimmel delivered a series of jokes referencing Donald Trump and a documentary about Melania Trump.

Kimmel joked that Trump might be upset that the documentary about his wife was not nominated in the category he was presenting. “Oh man, is he going to be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

The documentary, titled Melania, was released earlier in 2026 and reportedly earned around $7 million during its opening weekend, despite reports that advance ticket sales had appeared slow in many theatres.

Kimmel had previously commented on the film’s box-office performance during his late-night show, questioning how it achieved strong ticket sales when theatres appeared largely empty ahead of its release.

During his appearance at the Oscars, Kimmel also touched on issues related to free speech in entertainment. Without directly naming Trump at first, he remarked that some world leaders do not support free speech before adding that he was referring to North Korea and the American television network CBS.

The comment referenced CBS’s decision in 2025 to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which the network said was a financial decision.

Kimmel has frequently exchanged public criticism with Trump over the years. In 2024, the former US president criticised Kimmel’s performance as Oscars host in a post on his social media platform. During the ceremony that year, Kimmel responded by reading Trump’s message aloud and joking about it on stage.

The 2026 ceremony, hosted by Conan O'Brien, featured several notable moments beyond the political jokes. The award for Best Documentary Feature went to Mr Nobody Against Putin, while All the Empty Rooms won the Oscar for Documentary Short.

Although the ceremony focused on celebrating filmmaking achievements, Kimmel’s remarks about Trump and the Melania documentary became one of the widely discussed moments of the night.