Melania Trump held a rare press event where out of the blue she announced she had no relationship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, and anyone who says she did is a liar. And then many waited for the next shoe to drop.
Enter comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who shared a photo of them together.
This began when Melania Trump held a press conference to call the allegations she had a relationship with Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell "false smears." Later, President Donald Trump said he had no idea she was holding that presser, and there had been no recent allegation in the public sphere.
Melania said she first encountered Epstein in 2000 and had no knowledge of his criminal behavior at the time. The first lady emphasized that she was "not introduced to her husband by Epstein" and described her communication with Maxwell as "casual correspondence."
“Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now,” Melania told reporters at the White House. “Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false,” she said
And then Late Night Host Jimmy Kimmel shared a photo of Melania with Epstein that has been verified as real.
Jimmy Kimmel aired a photo of Melania Trump and Jeffrey Epstein together after the First Lady made a public address to say she's "never been friends with Epstein."
— Variety (@Variety) April 10, 2026
"While you’re explaining how much you didn’t know Epstein, any particular reason you can think of that he had a… pic.twitter.com/3IvaMIXSQ6
The photo was framed in one of Epstein's multi-million mansions.
Kimmel said, “By the way, while you’re explaining how much you didn’t know Epstein, any particular reason you can think of that he had a picture of you guys on display at his house, maybe this is the photo that came with the frame, I don’t know.
“I, for one, when I see this, I think, well, these two don’t know each other at all,” the late-night host jabbed.
Melania Trump called for Congress to hold public hearings for Epstein's victims to testify under oath, as the Justice Department faces scrutiny over Epstein-related records.
Lawmakers, including Rep. Robert Garcia and Rep. Nancy Mace, supported her call for additional hearings. But X user Max Manizer voiced what many said privately: "Weird how nobody was talking about Melania and Epstein before she came out and did that random press conference. Now the topic has gone viral. Why would she do that to herself?"
The White House had no statement beyond the president saying he wasn't aware of the presser. Kimmel had a theory about that, too. Kimmel questioned the timing of the conference, days after President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and the United States.
"He spent the past six weeks trying to bomb this Epstein story out of the headlines. Two days after the ceasefire, she puts it right back on top," Kimmel said.
This was after her unprompted presser to deny knowing him
This was after her unprompted presser to deny knowing him
