Aaron Rodgers offered some explanation for his recent comments connecting Jimmy Kimmel to Jeffrey Epstein — but not an apology.
“I wish him the best. I don’t give a s–t what he says about me,” Rodgers, 40, said on the Tuesday, January 9, episode of The Pat McAfee Show. “As long as he understands what I actually said, that I’m not accusing him of being on a list. I’m all for moving forward.”
Last week, Rodgers seemingly accused the late night host, 56, of having ties to the late sex offender Epstein after news broke that a list of Epstein’s star-studded associates was set to be released. “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping that list doesn’t come out,” the New York Jets quarterback claimed on January 2.
On Tuesday, Rodgers clarified that he did not intend to accuse Kimmel of any crimes with his comment. “I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be. So, for him to be upset about that, I get it,” Rodgers said. “I’m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence. That’s ridiculous.”
He explained that he was “referring to the fact that if there is a list” then he would expect a person like Kimmel to be on it. “That would be the second time that a soft-brained, junior college student, you know, wacko anti-vax, antisemite purveyor, spreading misinformation, conspiracy theorists, MAGA — whatever other things have been said by him and other people in the media — would be right twice,” Rodgers said.
Following Rodger’s initial comments, Kimmel took to X to slam the athlete’s claims. “Dear A-hole: 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,” he tweeted earlier this month. “Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
McAfee, 36, weighed in on the drama on the Wednesday, January 3, episode of his self-titled series, noting that he simply thought Rodgers “was trying to talk s–t” with his statement. “Now, did it go too far? Jimmy Kimmel certainly said that was the case,” McAfee added. “We obviously don’t like to be associated with anything negative ever. We’d like our show to be an uplifting one, a happy one, a fun one, but it’s because we talk s–t and try to make light of everything.”
Kimmel defended himself again during a heated Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue on Monday, January 8, emphasizing that he had never met Epstein. (Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors.)
“I’m not on the list, I wasn’t on a plane or an island or anything ever, and I suggested that if Aaron wanted to make false and very damaging statements like that we should do it in court so he could share his proof with, like, a judge,” Kimmel stated. “Because, you know, when you hear a guy who won a Super Bowl and did all the State Farm commercials say something like this, a lot of people believe it.”
Kimmel joked that Rodgers doesn’t actually believe his name is on the Epstein list. “He’s mad at me for making fun of his top knot and his lies about being vaccinated,” the comedian continued. (Kimmel called out the athlete in 2021 for contracting COVID-19 after lying about his vaccination status.)
Kimmel went on to state that Rodgers should apologize as it’s “what a decent person would do.” He continued: “But I bet he won’t. If he does, you know what I’ll do, I’ll accept his apology and move on. But he probably won’t do that.”
