George Clooney has defended Jimmy Kimmel after Donald Trump called for the late-night host to be fired, following a joke about Melania Trump. Speaking at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, Clooney said: 'Jimmy's a comedian'.
Clooney compared the backlash to a comment made by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said 'there will be some shots fired tonight' before the White House Correspondents Dinner. He argued that 'jokes are jokes' and that hyperbolic rhetoric 'can be toned down'.
The actor criticised the heated political climate, noting that 'when one side is calling anyone they disagree with traitors to the country, which is a charge punishable by death, the rhetoric is a little too heated'. He stressed the importance of a free press, referencing his father's advice to 'challenge people with more power'.
Clooney, whose father was a journalist, reaffirmed his belief in the press and the need for reporters to hold those in power accountable, quoting Thomas Jefferson on the necessity of a free and fair press.
