Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel defended his joke about Melania Trump’s appearance on Monday, days after the First Lady and President Trump criticized his remarks as hateful and violent.

Kimmel made the comment during a skit that aired April 23, ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. He joked that Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow,” a reference to the couple’s age difference.

After a shooting disrupted the actual dinner on April 25, which authorities said was a suspected third assassination attempt on the President, Melania Trump posted on social media that Kimmel’s “hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country.” The President also responded, saying the joke was “far beyond the pale.”

Kimmel’s Defense

During Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the host clarified his intent, saying the remark was “obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together.”

“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80, and she’s younger than I am,” Kimmel said. “It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination, and they know that.”

Kimmel emphasized his commitment to free speech protections. “Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I, as are all of us, because under the First Amendment, we have, as Americans, a right to free speech,” he said.

Moving Forward

The host expressed sympathy for those present at the disrupted dinner. “I am sorry that you and the President and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am,” Kimmel said, noting that he opposes gun violence. “Just ’cause no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary, and we should come together and be best.”

This story has been updated. CNN’s entertainment team contributed to this report.