Stephen Cheung, a prominent aide from the Trump White House, fiercely criticized late-night host Jimmy Kimmel following a controversial remark about former First Lady Melania Trump during the Academy Awards. Kimmel, known for his sharp wit, took aim at Melania’s documentary, which made its debut on Amazon in January. In his Oscars monologue, Kimmel discussed the impactful nature of documentaries, often highlighting societal issues or injustices, before jesting about lighter topics. “There are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes,” Kimmel quipped, referencing the film that chronicled Melania’s preparations for her return to the White House.

Cheung responded with a scathing post on social media platform X, lambasting Kimmel as a “classless hack” and accusing him of projecting his personal struggles onto others. Cheung’s remark also alluded to Kimmel’s past controversy on Comedy Central, where he impersonated NBA player Karl Malone in blackface. In 2020, Kimmel acknowledged the insensitivity of these past sketches, expressing embarrassment over them. Cheung further asserted that only “Hollywood Elites” paid attention to Kimmel, dismissing him with a curt “BUH-BYE.”

Kimmel continued his jabs during the presentation of the Best Documentary Feature award, humorously predicting an upset reaction from a certain individual. “Oh man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” Kimmel joked, taking another dig at Trump. However, the Melania documentary was not eligible for the 2026 Oscars, as it was released after the specified eligibility window, which required films to premiere between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. The nomination process had already commenced in November 2025, with nominees revealed on January 22, 2026, just a week before the documentary’s release.

The Melania doc smashed its dismal box office sales estimates during the opening weekend – much to the shock of Hollywood. The movie earned $7 million in ticket sales across the US and Canada, making it the best-performing theatrical release for a documentary, outside of concert films, since 2012. Kimmel and the President have clashed publicly for years, frequently trading insults across television and social media. The latest flashpoint came last fall, after Kimmel’s late-night show was temporarily suspended following controversial remarks about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

‘Great News for America: The ratings-challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,’ the President wrote online after the suspension was announced. Kimmel returned to his nightly broadcast five days later. The late-night host sparked additional controversy as he presented documentary awards at the Oscars, delivering a series of sharp remarks about the President and the First Lady’s new movie, and what he framed as threats to free speech. ‘There are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech,’ Kimmel told the audience. ‘I’m not at liberty to say which, but let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS.’

The line drew laughs inside the theater as viewers recognized the jab at the network’s decision last year to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, together with the repositioning of its news arm to be more favorable to Trump. CBS News is now led by Bari Weiss, a conservative commentator-turned-media entrepreneur, whose appointment was seen as a nod to the Trump administration. The network announced last year that it was ending Colbert’s long-running late-night program, describing the move at the time as a ‘financial decision.’