Pat McAfee has addressed NFL star Aaron Rodgers’s “serious allegations” about Jimmy Kimmel being on Jeffrey Epstein’s client list during an appearance on his ESPN show.
The former American football punter, 36, apologised for “being a part” of the feud between Kimmel and Rodgers, which seemingly began last March, during Wednesday’s (3 January) episode of his eponymous sports talk show on the sports channel.
His apology came one day after the New York Jets quarterback, 40, implied Kimmel, 56, was among the high-profile names on a list of the late convicted paedophile’s associates on The Pat McAfee Show, ahead of a trove of court documents containing the information being unsealed.
Kimmel fired back at Rodgers in a statement shared on social media, denying “any contact whatsoever” with the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in a New York jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges in 2019.
Regarding Rodgers’s remarks, McAfee said on Wednesday (3 January): “Some things obviously people get very pissed off about, especially when they’re that serious allegations.
“We apologise for being a part of it. I can’t wait to hear what Aaron has to say about it. Hopefully those two will just be able to settle this – not court-wise – but be able to chit chat and move along.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for ESPN and Rodgers for comment.
Kimmel threatened to sue Rodgers for his comments on McAfee’s show in a strongly-worded statement on X, formerly Twitter, condemning his “reckless words”.
“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-phoney 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.”
Discussing the Epstein client list with McAfee during Tuesday’s now-controversial episode: “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out.”
McAfee then offered context for Rodgers’s comments, explaining that Kimmel had previously mocked him as a “tin foil hatter” in response to remarks about UFOs and the Epstein list on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2023.
Rodgers replied: “I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.”
The feud comes days before forty court documents containing the names of Epstein’s associates, including former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, late pop star Michael Jackson, and Prince Andrew, were made public.
However, being identified in the documents does not necessarily imply the individual was involved in or awate of Epstein’s wrongdoings, such as in the case of Clinton and Trump.
The filings pertain to Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre’s defamation claim against Epstein’s fixer and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Guiffre, who also sued Andrew for “sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress”, launched legal action against Maxwell in 2015 for calling her a liar over claims she had been sexually abused as a child.
Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrong-doing. The civil lawsuit was settled out of court, without an admission of liability.
Guiffre’s case against Maxwell was also settled 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. The disgraced British socialite was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Last December, Judge Loretta Preska ordered that court documents connected to the case be unsealed, identifying 177 high-profile individuals previously only referred to as John or Jane Doe.
You can find live updates about the Epstein client list here.
