“I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn’t mean shots should be fired, right? She was making a joke. Fair enough,” said Clooney. “I look at that side and go, ‘Well, jokes are jokes.’ But the rhetoric, I think, is a little dangerous. And we’ve seen it a lot lately.”
A free speech group led by actor Jane Fonda has also defended Kimmel, arguing that calls for him to be taken off air “follow the same old, tired, authoritarian playbook.”
“In America, satire is not a crime. The right to mock, to challenge, and yes, to offend those in power, is foundational to democracy,” read a statement from the Committee for the First Amendment. “From late-night television to political cartoons, comedy has long served as a powerful tool to expose hypocrisy, provoke debate, and drive accountability.”
Trump and First Lady Melania called for Kimmel to be fired over a skit the comedian delivered about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner—a bit which was filmed and televised days before this year’s event.
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