Jimmy Kimmel Makes Bold Comparison Between 'Missing' Kate Middleton and Melania Trump

Jimmy Kimmel, Kate Middleton and Melania Trump

Jimmy Kimmel made a bold comparison this week between former first lady Melania Trump and the concerns many royal watchers have that Kate Middleton has gone “missing” since her abdominal surgery in January.

The late night host made the comparison during the Tues., March 19 episode of his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, while referencing comments Donald Trump made about the Princess of Wales during a recent interview with GB News. When the former president was asked about the photo editing scandal that erupted after Kensington Palace released a doctored image of Kate with her three children, he said it “shouldn’t be a big deal” because “everybody” doctors photos.

“You look at these movie actors and you see a movie actor, and you meet him and you say, ‘Is that the same person in the picture?’” the former president and 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner said while speaking with GB News’ Nigel Farage. In contrast, he said the photo of Kate appeared to have “very minor doctoring.”

“I don’t understand why there could be such a howl over that,” he told Farage.

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Kimmel also seemed to be amazed at how quickly conspiracy theories surrounding Kate’s whereabouts have spread. Jimmy Kimmel Live! later shared his perspective on the scandal now known as "#KateGate" on Instagram.

“For the first time this century, I agree with Donald Trump: It really isn’t a big deal,” Kimmel told his audience. He mentioned how Google searches for Kate have skyrocketed in the U.S. over the last week as people around the world started “putting together clues to find the princess.”

“This shows you how different it is in the U.K.,” Kimmel said. “Kate goes missing for a few weeks, the whole country goes berserk. Meanwhile, we haven’t seen Melania since 2021.”

Though Melania was spotted earlier on March 19 accompanying her husband as he voted in Florida’s Republican presidential primary election, she has largely stayed out of the public eye since the former president left office in January 2021. In contrast, concern over Kate and her absence from public life has grown since her surgery two months ago. The doctored photo that the palace released for Mother’s Day, which the U.K. celebrated on March 10, continued fueling conspiracy theories, with the public most recently casting doubt on a new video in which the princess appeared to be out shopping with Prince William.

Given the widespread speculation about what is happening with the royal family, Kimmel said he is “grateful” for how open some of America’s top celebrities are with the public.

“It’s times like these I’m grateful that our royal family is the Kardashians,” Kimmel said as his audience laughed. “They don’t do anything top secret. They put every bit of everything on Hulu for anyone to see whenever they want, and I appreciate it.”

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