The quarterback baselessly accused the late-night host of a connection with the convicted sex criminal.
Aaron Rodgers could, very generously, be described as a man who likes doing his own research, coming to unique perspectives on topics as varied as vaccinations, UFOs, tendon rehabilitation, and September 11. Naturally, the conspiracist quarterback for the New York Jets has some ideas about Jeffrey Epstein.
In an appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday night, Rodgers said he was looking forward to the release later this month of new information about alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s contacts, referring to a trove of documents related to a victim’s defamation suit settled in 2017. Rodgers did not list the usual high-society names associated with the financier: Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Donald Trump. Instead, he suggested that a late-night host would be exposed in the unsealed documents expected as early as this week. “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel are really hoping that doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said. He added that when the list comes out, “I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.”
I believe the way this typically works is Aaron Rodgers will now announce in a day or two that the mainstream media twisted his words and that he would never imply Jimmy Kimmel is on the Epstein list despite saying exactly that pic.twitter.com/0ManasflfU
— Benjamin Hoffman (@BenHoffmanNYT) January 3, 2024
The comment seemed at first like a random haymaker from Rodgers; while Kimmel has done some regrettable things in his past, the late-night star has never been associated with Epstein. Later in the segment, host Pat McAfee provided some context for Rodgers’s remark: In March 2023, Rodgers had appeared on the ESPN talk show and brought up his theory that last year’s news cycle on UFOs may have been designed to distract from further revelations in the Epstein saga. In a segment on his own show, Kimmel joked that it “might be time to revisit that concussion protocol, Aaron” — a riff that Rodgers apparently did not take kindly to.
Kimmel certainly wasn’t pleased, responding with a mean tweet of his own: “Dear Aasshole: for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any ‘list’ other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality. Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
Maybe the threat of legal action will end this intra-Disney feud between the ESPN-friendly quarterback and the ABC comedian. Either way, the fact that this happened at all says a lot about the state of the New York Jets’ season — and Rodgers’s level of focus almost four months after being sidelined with an Achilles tear in his first game with the team.
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