Pat McAfee apologized Wednesday after Aaron Rodgers suggested on his ESPN show on Tuesday that ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel was linked to the list of Jeffrey Epstein associates scheduled to be released this month, saying that he and his team were “rolling on two hours of sleep” because of the Rose Bowl game prior to going live.
He also explained that Rodgers’ comment was “meant to be a shit talk joke” and that The Pat McAfee Show was “uplifting” and designed to “try to make light of everything.”
On the Tuesday program, the New York Jets quarterback, who is a frequent guest on McAfee’s show, said, “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping [the list] doesn’t come out… I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I’ll definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.”
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In response, Kimmel threatened to sue Rodgers in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
“Some things obviously people get very pissed off about, especially when they’re that serious allegations,” McAfee stated in his Wednesday monologue. “So we apologize for being a part of it. I can’t wait to hear what Aaron [Rodgers] has to say about it. Hopefully those two will just be able to settle this, you know, not work wise but be able to chit chat and move along.”
McAfee expressed sympathy toward both men, saying, “I can understand why Jimmy got incredibly upset, yeah, I definitely completely understand that, especially with his position, but also I think Aaron is like, ‘hey, this guy has said some stuff about me in his monologue’ and he’s just trying to shit talk.”
According to the New York Post, Rodgers and Kimmel have a history of beef dating back to 2021 when the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host made fun of the NFL star for testing positive for COVID-19 after he misled fans by saying he was “immunized.” “The only thing worse than not getting vaccinated when you’re in close proximity with other people is letting them think you’re vaccinated when you’re not,” Kimmel joked. “It’s basically the COVID equivalent of ‘The condom fell off.’”
Rodgers has not replied to Kimmel’s threat of legal action as of Wednesday afternoon and an ESPN spokesperson turned down the New York Post’s request for comment on the situation.
