Oz Pearlman No Longer Appearing on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ After White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting
Oz Pearlman won’t be a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night anymore.
Despite being previously scheduled to appear on the ABC late night talk show on Monday, updated listings show the mentalist was swapped with Pod Save America co-host Jon Lovett.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to ABC for comment. Monday’s episode will also feature guest Anthony Anderson.
The move comes days after shots were fired at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night, where Pearlman was serving as the host. Moments before the incident unfolded — which saw 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, armed with multiple weapons, reportedly charged through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton — Pearlman was performing a magic trick on Karoline Leavitt, who was sitting next to President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the ballroom.
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They were then all seen ducking to the ground behind the table on stage, before Trump and Melania were rushed out of the room. Allen, who was subdued by authorities, has since been charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.
Pearlman later released a statement on the incident. “Thank you all for checking on me,” he wrote on Instagram. “I am ok and thank God everyone is alright! Was in the middle of performing for the President and First Lady when I looked up to see a commotion, thought it was a bomb about to go off or shots fired. We hit the deck fast and Secret Service acted decisively and professionally to protect us all. We laid on the ground, I was a couple feet away from President Trump, eyes locked with one another. It was likely the scariest moment of my life and will never forget it. So happy everyone is ok.”
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! lineup change also came as host Jimmy Kimmel drew heat from Trump once again. The president and Melania both called for his show to be canceled in the wake of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting and condemned the comedian’s ill-timed joke last week, which called Melania an “expectant widow.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights on ABC at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.
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