Sports analyst Pat McAfee responded to Jimmy Kimmel’s reaction to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ remarks about him and Jeffrey Epstein during McAfee’s show on Tuesday.
During a Tuesday night episode of ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube, Rodgers made comments implying that Kimmel would be affected by the list of names associated with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that were released Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping that list doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said in conversation with McAfee and his co-host, A.J. Hawk.
An outraged Kimmel fired back at the Jets player in a post on X (formerly Twitter) where he threatened to pursue legal action.
“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,” Kimmel said. “Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
During his program on Wednesday, McAfee addressed the comments made on Tuesday’s episode and responded to Kimmel’s reaction, explaining that he understood why the talk show host was upset.
“I can see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially with his position. But I think Aaron was just trying to talk shit,” McAfee said.
“We obviously don’t like the fact that we’re associated with anything negative ever. We like our show to be an uplifting one, a happy one, a fun one,” he said. “Because we talk shit and try to make light of everything, some things obviously people get very pissed off about, especially when they are serious allegations, so we apologize for being a part of it. Can’t wait to hear what Aaron has to say about it.”
Rodgers has not publicly responded to Kimmel’s threat to sue.
ESPN faced backlash over the controversy, Business Insider reported, though it is unclear whether the sports channel is looking into what occurred on the show on Tuesday.
In an episode on Wednesday, McAfee went on to say that he hopes Kimmel and Rodgers can settle the issue through conversation rather than a lawsuit and “move along.”
“Remember, you’re allowed to disagree with people’s opinions… and you’re allowed to just move on,” he said.
Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August 2019. He was facing charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex, which were dismissed after his death.