Jimmy Kimmel has threatened to sue Aaron Rodgers after the NFL star implied he could be named on the list of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s client list.
Kimmel, 56, “denied any contact whatsoever” with the disgraced financier in a statement posted on X/Twitter, while condemning Rodgers’s “reckless words” on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.
On Tuesday’s (2 January) episode of the sports talk show, American National Football League (NFL) player Rodgers implied Kimmel could be named on a list of Epstein’s associates, which is due to be released as early as next week.
The list of 170 names will be made public after a New York judge ordered that secret court documents – connected to Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre’s now-settled defamation claim against Ghislaine Maxwell – be unsealed.
Discussing the Epstein client list with sports analyst Pat McAfee on his eponymous talk show, Rodgers said: “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out.”
McAfee then contextualised Rodgers’s comments, explaining that Kimmel had previously mocked the New York Jets quarterback as a “tin foil hatter” in response to his remarks about UFOs and the Epstein list on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2023.
The 40-year-old footballer then responded: “I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.”
Kimmel hit back at “soft-brained wacko” Rodgers in his strongly-worded statement on X, writing: “Dear Aa**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.”
Kimmel has two grown-up children, daughter Katie, 33, and son Kevin, 30, with his ex-wife Gina Maddy. Their marriage ended after 15 years together, with Maddy filing for divorce in 2002.
The comedian also shares two children, nine-year-old daughter Jane and six-year-old son Bily, with his wife Molly McNearney.
Last December, Judge Loretta Preska ordered that court documents connected to Guiffre’s defamation case against convicted sex trafficker Maxwell be unsealed, identifying 177 high-profile individuals previously only referred to as John or Jane Doe.
Guiffre sued Maxwell for defamation in 2015 for calling her a liar over claims she had been sexually abused as a child.
The case was settled out of court in 2017 and placed under a protective seal. It also formed part of the criminal investigation that ultimately led to Maxwell’s conviction for child sex trafficking in December 2021. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Guiffre’s defamation claim triggered a series of civil lawsuits, including the case against disgraced Duke of York, Prince Andrew for “sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress” that was eventually settled out of court without admission of liability.
Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
