Top Trump White House Aide Stephen Cheung erupted at late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel after his snide remarks about First Lady Melania Trump's documentary. At Sunday night's Academy Awards, Kimmel attacked Melania for her eponymous documentary, which was released by Amazon in January. As he discussed the importance of documentaries, often produced under difficult conditions to expose injustice or tell important stories, Kimmel made a sarcastic contrast. 'There are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes,' he said. The remark referenced Melania, a documentary that followed the First Lady as she prepared to return to the White House.
Cheung Blasts Kimmel
'Jimmy Kimmel (Mr. Blackface) is a classless hack who is self-projecting his depression and sadness onto others. He lives a pathetic existence where nobody -- not even his family -- enjoys his miserable company,' Cheung wrote on X Sunday evening. During his time on Comedy Central in the early 2000's, Kimmel used to parody NBA player Karl Malone while in blackface. Years later, in June of 2020, Kimmel said, 'Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing.' 'The only people giving him any attention are Hollywood Elites. BUH-BYE,' Chueng added.
Kimmel then continued the theme as he announced the Best Documentary Feature winner, joking that someone in particular might be upset. 'Oh man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn't nominated for this,' Kimmel said in another swipe at Trump. The Academy's own nomination criteria would not have seen the Melania documentary included in 2026 Oscars, as films needed to have been released between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. Nominations began in November 2025, and nominees were announced on January 22nd of 2026, a week before the Melania movie came out.
Melania documentary beats box office expectations
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.'