'Nobody Watched the Clip!' Jets' Rodgers Clarifies (Backtracks?) Controversial Kimmel, Epstein Comments
Call it a … misunderstanding?
When New York Jets' quarterback Aaron Rodgers last appeared on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, he nearly found himself in legal hot water due to a joke he made at the expense of comedian and late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel.
Just over one month after Rodgers seemingly insinuated a connection between Kimmel and alleged human- and sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the future Hall of Famer is attempting to set the record straight.
"He [Kimmel] had gone on his show and called me a tinfoil-hat-wearing doofus," Rodgers said during Wednesday’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. "I thought he had said that I was an idiot for even thinking that there’s a list out there."
The “list” to which Rodgers referred is said to reveal several of Epstein’s associates, who (as a result of being named) may be implicated in a potentially illegal ring of sexual misconduct and abuse. The late financier, who allegedly died of suicide in August 2019, was believed to have kept a social circle of wealthy and powerful businessmen, politicians and Hollywood stars.
During his Pat McAfee appearance, Rodgers appeared to imply Kimmel’s name was likely to be found on Epstein’s list.
Unsurprisingly, Kimmel took umbrage to Rogers remarks — utilizing both social media and his late night show, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! to refute them. The backlash caused by Rodgers’ comments also prompted ESPN to publicly condemn them.
As a result, the four-time MVP is now both clarifying and backtracking: claiming his intent was never to implicate Kimmel in connection to Epstein’s felonious activities.
"No!" Rodgers emphatically answered when asked by Rogan if he attempted to impugn the comedian’s reputation by linking him with the disgraced former banker. "Nobody watched the clip! They just saw a headline and ‘Oh, it’s the anti-vax guy again, let’s hammer him'."
Instead, Rodgers stated that his intent was to prod Kimmel to show either equal or somewhat commensurate disdain for those revealed to be on the infamous list, as he did for those who refused the COVID vaccine - an issue on which Rodgers has also taken a controversial stance.
Said Rogers, “All I’m asking is, let’s have the same energy for you talking about the vax — and people, if you’re not vaxed, being left to die — about these people on the list, because it’s (bleeped) up."
Although Rodgers acknowledged being invited on Kimmel's show to discuss the matter further, he expressed his preference to first have a private conversation with the host.
In the meantime, Rodgers will turn his attention to the upcoming season — his second with the Jets. The 40-year-old was traded to New York, along with the Packers' first and fifth-round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, in exchange for the Jets' first, second and sixth-round selections in the 2023 draft and a conditional second-round selection in 2024.
However, he suffered a ruptured Achilles on just his fourth offensive snap of the season. Though he missed the nearly the entirety of his first season in New York, Rodgers is hopeful to be ready for the start of training camp in June.
