Jimmy Kimmel criticized first lady Melania Trump at the Oscars, calling her recent documentary a film about “trying on shoes” at the White House.
Kimmel presented the award for Best Documentary Short Film on Sunday at the Academy Awards and pointed out the power of documentaries. He noted that many times, documentaries are made in the face of great personal risk because of what they expose in terms of what they’re teaching or calling out injustice.
“There are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes,” Kimmel said, in a jab at Trump, whose documentary, Melania, came out earlier this year.
Kimmel also announced the winner for best feature documentary and said President Donald Trump would be mad that Melania’s documentary wasn’t nominated for the award.
Kimmel also acknowledged that not everywhere accepts the value of free speech, saying those places are “North Korea and CBS,” in a dig at the network for allegedly censoring late night host Stephen Colbert.
The documentary, which debuted earlier this year and later began streaming on Amazon Prime Video, has been the subject of sustained mockery from Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The film, directed by Brett Ratner, follows the former first lady in the period surrounding Donald’s return to office and has drawn criticism from reviewers who described it as light on substance and heavily focused on image, fashion and behind-the-scenes moments. Kimmel has repeatedly labeled the project a “vanity documentary” and used it as a punchline in multiple monologues, including jokes about its reported budget, box office performance and critical reception.
One clip from the documentary that has drawn particular attention — and laughter from Kimmel — shows Melania appearing disengaged during a phone call with her husband on the night Congress certified the 2024 election results. In the exchange, Melania tells Donald she did not watch the coverage live and would “see it on the news,” a moment Kimmel described on his show as “one of the funniest conversations I’ve ever heard,” adding that it “almost makes me feel a little bad for him.”
Her documentary has been defended in conservative media circles, with some commentators praising its audience reception and fashion-focused approach, even as mainstream critics have been far less enthusiastic.
The Oscars moment also revived a familiar dynamic between Hollywood and Trump-era politics, especially at a ceremony that has increasingly become a venue for pointed cultural commentary. Kimmel has never shied away from political humor, and his antagonistic relationship with Donald dates back years, including previous Oscars broadcasts. During the 2024 ceremony, Kimmel famously read a social media post from Trump attacking him mid-show, responding live from the stage and drawing widespread attention.
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