Mentalist Oz Pearlman has canceled his scheduled appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” following a wave of criticism directed at the host’s recent jokes about Melania Trump. In a previous episode, Kimmel made a controversial remark suggesting the former First Lady resembled “an expectant widow,” a comment that has drawn widespread backlash, particularly in light of an attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which both Donald and Melania Trump attended. The Trumps have since demanded ABC dismiss Kimmel, though the comedian is expected to continue hosting the show tonight. CNN reports that Pearlman decided to withdraw from his guest slot alongside comedian Anthony Anderson for Monday night’s episode. Jon Lovett, co-host of “Pod Save America,” is set to fill Pearlman’s spot. Attempts to reach representatives for both Jimmy Kimmel Live and Pearlman for comments have been made by the Daily Mail.

The controversial joke about Melania Trump was part of a segment on Thursday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where Kimmel mock-delivered a comedic routine as if at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. This event was abruptly halted two nights later when a man attempted to breach the venue in Washington, armed with weapons, while the Trumps and key political figures were present. Melania Trump responded on X, criticizing Kimmel’s rhetoric as divisive. “Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America,” she stated. She further expressed that individuals like Kimmel should not have the platform to spread negativity into people’s homes nightly.

Continuing her criticism, Melania labeled Kimmel as cowardly, alleging he takes refuge under ABC’s protection. “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. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community?” she concluded. Kimmel faced further backlash for his “widow” remark just days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner incident. In a parody segment, Kimmel referred to Melania as an “expectant widow.” Donald Trump also condemned Kimmel on Truth Social, calling the comments a “despicable call to violence” and urged Disney and ABC to fire him. As of now, ABC has not issued any response.

Kimmel has long targeted the president in his comedy, and he doubled down after a run-in with the administration last fall. He was suspended by ABC and some of the network’s affiliates said they would take him off the air following a comment made about assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk, moves encouraged by Trump’s FCC chairman, Brendan Carr. ABC and the stations later brought Kimmel back. Upon his return, Kimmel said that by saying that ‘many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk,’ he was not trying to make light of Kirk’s killing and didn’t want to leave that impression. He did not apologize, however, and he criticized station owners who took him off the air before later relenting.

On Sunday, Pearlman revealed what he had been showing First Lady Melania Trump on his notepad before gunfire erupted at the event. Pearlman, 41, divulged the trick that he was performing, which had guessed 28-year-old White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s unborn child’s name, just moments before shots rang out on Saturday evening. ‘The night was going very, very well. I was warming up the crowd, the [Vice President] was loving my show, and I was speaking to the press secretary,’ Pearlman told USA Today . ‘The challenge was to figure out the name of [Leavitt’s] unborn daughter.’ The trick saw Pearlman ask Leavitt to think of a name before he showed the notepad, where he had written down the name Leavitt picked for her daughter, Viviane. Leavitt, who is expected to give birth in only a matter of days, later confirmed to Pearlman that he had guessed correctly, the outlet reported.

‘I never would have shared this with the world, the point is not to “gotcha” her. But I spoke to her and she said it’s okay to share,’ he told the outlet. ‘”This is a moment in history,” she told me. When it happened, she said, “I don’t know how the hell you guessed my daughter’s name.”‘ But no sooner had he revealed his impressive trick, gunfire rang out at the event, the crowd cowered under tables, Secret Service leapt into action and Pearlman found himself lying on the floor. ‘The timing was insane,’ Pearlman continued. ‘Right as I did the reveal, that’s exactly the moment things went down in the room.’ ‘You see the peak reaction to my trick, the “Oh!” and then things instantly change to shock and distress,’ he recalled.

As he lay on the ground, he turned and saw the president within reach. He recalled to CNN that his thoughts as he lay on the floor with Trump was, ‘Oh no, are we about to die?’ ‘Seeing his face a foot away – I’ll never forget that,’ he said. ‘It’s a photo in my mind forever. I wish I had meta glasses on and I’d have that photo.’ Pearlman said on CNN Monday night that he would be thrilled to host a rescheduled dinner. He did not address his backing out of the Kimmel show. The parody skit came just days before gunfire erupted at the event on Saturday evening in Washington, DC, which saw President Trump in attendance in person for the first time while in office. Kimmel’s quips during the event parody, however, received backlash.

Marc Beckman, senior advisor to Melania, told the Daily Mail exclusively that Kimmel ‘should be terminated.’ ‘Our community should not tolerate violent political rhetoric at the expense of the First Family or any of our nation’s political leaders, regardless of party affiliation. And Kimmel continues to play these disrespectful and dangerous games knowing very well that he is protected by the ABC network. It’s enough – ABC should draw the line,’ he said. Guests barely had the chance to tuck into their appetizers before Secret Service agents swarmed the Washington Hilton’s ballroom following a series of ‘loud noises.’ The ballroom, filled with the nation’s top journalists, Hollywood celebrities, and Cabinet members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, became a scene of pure pandemonium.

The incident occurred at the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 – an eerie historical parallel that was not lost on those in attendance. As Trump and the First Lady were whisked to safety, terrified attendees took cover anywhere they could as they waited anxiously for news. The suspected shooter, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, had breached the security checkpoint at the event before he was swiftly taken down by law enforcement. Trump, still wearing his tuxedo, addressed the nation just two hours later. ‘When you’re impactful, they go after you,’ he said defiantly. ‘They seem to think he was a lone wolf. We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.’

A Secret Service agent was shot during the incident, but is expected to recover, as the President continued on to say that the agent ‘was shot from a very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the [bulletproof] vest did the job.’ ‘I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great,’ Trump added. The White House has confirmed that the dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days, promising an event that is ‘bigger and better.’ But for now, Washington remains on high alert as it grapples with yet another attempt on the President’s life.