Tuesday brought what will be one of the weirdest new feuds in sports and media after New York Jets star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was threatened with litigation by popular late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel.
Aaron Rodgers is one of the most popular NFL players of the 21st century. During his legendary 18-year career with the Green Bay Packers, he earned four NFL MVP awards, Pro Bowl honors in 10 seasons, and led the franchise to a Super Bowl championship in 2010. Furthermore, his swagger-filled style of play has helped to cultivate a legion of fans.
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However, the current New York Jets star has also developed a reputation for being a unique individual with sometimes unusual outlooks on the sport and life. This is the same man who went into a darkness retreat to decide if he would continue his career in 2023, and has claimed the use of psychedelics led him to winning back-to-back MVP awards.
Well, on Tuesday Rodgers added a new layer to his free-spiriting reputation during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” While conversing about the impending release of a list of names with ties to vial and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Rodgers shockingly said “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that [list] doesn’t come out.”
Jimmy Kimmel threatens litigation against Jets Aaron Rodgers
It was a random comment that did not seem to have any verifiable proof that completely came out of left field. And it wasn’t long before the popular late-night host caught wind of the moment on the hit podcast and took to his X account to strongly respond to the Jets QB.
“Dear A**hole: 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. Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
– Jimmy Kimmel
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What makes the brewing beef between the two all the more fascinating is that Kimmel is the host of ABC’s top late-night show, while the McAfee podcast airs on ESPN, a sister network also under the Disney umbrella.
Epstein was convicted of serious crimes related to trafficking underage women in 2008 and died early into his sentence in federal prison. Many world-renowned celebrities are expected to be named in the infamous list set to be released this week.
