Aaron Rodgers offered no apologies Tuesday after Jimmy Kimmel called on him to do so for saying Kimmel would appear in court documents associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
Rodgers’ latest comments on “The Pat McAfee Show” came less than 24 hours after Kimmel blasted Rodgers, the future Hall of Fame quarterback of the New York Jets, in the opening monologue of Monday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Kimmel said Rodgers probably didn’t believe he was an associate of Epstein but was upset about being the target of his jokes.
Rodgers made the allegations on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN last week. “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who’s really hoping that doesn’t come out,” he said, referring to then-unsealed court documents that included the names of more than 150 people mentioned in legal proceedings related to Epstein. Rodgers added that should “that list” come out, he would “definitely be popping some sort of bottle.”
Kimmel said in his opening monologue: “And then it did come out, and, of course, my name isn’t on it. … I don’t know Jeffrey Epstein, I’ve never met Jeffrey Epstein, I’m not on a list, I wasn’t on a plane or an island or anything ever.
“A lot of delusional people honestly believe I am meeting up with Tom Hanks and Oprah at Shakey’s once a week to eat pizza and drink the blood of children,” he continued.
“Either he actually believes my name was going to be on Epstein’s list, which is insane, or the more likely scenario is he doesn’t actually believe that; he just said it because he’s mad at me for making fun of his topknot and his lies about being vaccinated,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel added he would “move on” if Rodgers apologized.
“When I do get something wrong, which happens on rare occasions. you know what I do? I apologize for it, which is what Aaron Rodgers should do, which is what a decent person would do, but I bet he won’t,” he said.
The apology never came.
Instead, Rodgers clarified his comments, saying he didn’t accuse Kimmel of being a pedophile.
He said his prickly relationship with Kimmel dates to the pandemic, when Kimmel often made jokes about Rodgers’ vaccination status. He also said Kimmel gave a platform to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whom Rodgers called “one of the biggest spreaders of misinformation” during the pandemic.
Rodgers also said he was talking about how Kimmel had previously taken other comedic shots at him because he believed there was a “list” associated with Epstein that would eventually be released and expose corruption.
Rodgers said his comments prompted Kimmel to call him an “overly concussed wacko.”
“I was referring to the fact that if there is a list … and there are names on it, that would be the second time that a soft-brain junior college student, you know, wacko, anti-vax, antisemite, purveyor, spreader of misinformation, conspiracy theorist, MAGA, whatever other things have been said by him and other people in the media, would be right — twice,” he said.
Rodgers added he “totally understands” how serious an allegation of pedophilia can be.
“So for him to be upset about that, I get it. I’m not stupid enough, even though you think I’m an idiot, and you’ve 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,” he said.
Rodgers said he would “like to put this to bed to move forward.”
Kimmel opened his monologue Monday by saying 2024 had already been a “crazy year, particularly for me.” He went on to eviscerate Rodgers for his comments about Covid shots when he said he was unvaccinated and instead took ivermectin, which is designed to treat parasites in livestock and has been widely debunked as a treatment for Covid.
Last year, Kimmel called Rodgers, then with the Green Bay Packers, a “whack Packer” for suggesting — also on “The Pat McAfee Show” — that news reports of UFO sightings were somehow linked to the Epstein case, citing the “interesting timing.”
Kimmel responded to Rodgers last week on X, saying his “reckless words” about the Epstein documents had put his family in danger.
“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 wrote.
He added: “Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019 in connection with alleged incidents that occurred from 2002 to 2005. He died by suicide in a jail cell in August of that year, an incident that federal investigators said was the result of errors and negligence by staff members.
The first documents released last week included big names but few new details. The names, including those of some high-profile figures, have mostly been mentioned publicly in court documents before — but the case continues to fuel conspiracy theories and wild speculation.
Another set of unsealed documents last week showed how teenage girls were recruited to go to Epstein’s home in Florida.
