New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has denied accusing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel of pedophilia, saying he is “not stupid enough” to make such a serious claim.
Rodgers had joked last week that Kimmel was concerned about the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s list, leading to Kimmel threatening to discuss the situation further in court. In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the same show he made the joke on, Rodgers explained that he only said Kimmel was concerned about the list’s release and in no way was accusing the late-night host of being a pedophile.
“I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be, so for him to be upset about that, I get it,” Rodgers said. “Did you watch the quote? Because that’s exactly what I said. Verbatim what I said on the show, OK? I’m not stupid enough, even though you think I’m an idiot, and you made a lot of comments about my intelligence, but I’m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence. That’s ridiculous.”
Rodgers added he was glad Kimmel was not on the Epstein list and said that those who are on the list should receive an inquiry into their involvement with Epstein. He also said he would like to put the situation behind him.
His statement comes a day after Kimmel discussed the online feud on his own show, during which Kimmel said Rodger’s comment made “a lot of delusional people” believe he had been involved with Epstein. He also said it is more likely that Rodgers did not actually believe Kimmel was on Epstein’s list and rather was “mad” at him over jokes he made about Rodgers in the past.
“And by the way, I’m not one of those people who thinks athletes and members of the sports media should stick to talking about sports,” Kimmel said. “I think Aaron Rodgers has the right to express any opinion he wants. But saying someone is a pedophile is not an opinion, nor is it ‘trash talk,’ sorry, Pat McAfee.”
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Kimmel’s comment toward McAfee was in relation to the host of The Pat McAfee Show coming to Rodgers’s aid, in which he said the football player merely wanted to “talk s***” and was not serious about his statement.
Rodgers has created drama online in the past with his appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, as he jokingly named Travis Kelce “Mr. Pfizer” after the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was in a commercial promoting Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Rodgers, a critic of the COVID-19 vaccine, also offered to do a debate with Kelce on vaccinations.