Jimmy Kimmel used his moment onstage at the Oscars to poke fun at Donald and Melania Trump. He did so while presenting one of the night’s documentary categories. The late-night host seemingly referenced Melania’s recently released documentary and joked that the president might be upset it didn’t get any nominations.
Jimmy Kimmel takes a jab at Melania documentary
As he walked onstage at the Oscars 2026, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host began by referencing his own history with the awards show. “Wait, am I not hosting the show?” he joked while addressing the audience.
Kimmel then presented the categories for Best Documentary Feature Film and Best Documentary Short. During his introduction, he reflected on the risks filmmakers often take to tell powerful stories. “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,” he said. “As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech — I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS,” Kimmel added.
Jimmy Kimmel continued by praising documentary filmmakers before taking a jab at Melania Trump’s documentary. “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,” he said. “And there are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes,” Kimmel added.
The remark referred to Melania, a Brett Ratner–directed documentary released by Amazon MGM Studios on January 30. The film follows the first lady’s life during the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration in 2025. Despite the big release, the documentary did not gain significant traction during awards season and currently holds an 11% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Kimmel later referenced Donald Trump again while announcing the nominees for Best Documentary Feature Film. “Oh man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” he quipped. Trump has continued to publicly support the film, despite its reception.
