After lighting a firestorm last week with his comments, New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will address his public dispute with Jimmy Kimmel on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday.
On Monday, Rodgers spoke to reporters following the New York Jets' 17-3 Week 18 victory over the New England Patriots. As part of a wide-ranging exit interview, Rodgers told them he plans to speak about the situation on the same show where the comments originally aired.
"I'm going to talk about it [Tuesday] on the show," he said. "Tune in."
Newsweek reached out to the Jets for comment about Rodgers' plans.
The controversy exploded last week when Rodgers, in an appearance on McAfee's show, seemingly inferred Kimmel would be on a list of court documents related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Rodgers implied Kimmel has reasons for not wanting the list released.
"A lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are really hoping that doesn't come out," Rodgers said, adding he will be "popping some sort of bottle" if the list is released.
Kimmel's name was not on a 943-page document from a civil lawsuit related to Epstein, which was unsealed by the Southern District of New York on January 3.
A livid Kimmel fired back at Rodgers in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Dear A********: 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," the post said. "Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts in court."
The next day, McAfee apologized for "being a part of it" and said he can't wait to hear what Rodgers has to say. He added that he hopes Rodgers and Kimmel can settle things out of court.
"I could see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially with his position," McAfee said. "But I think Aaron was just trying to talk s***."
ESPN tried to walk back Rodgers' comments.
"Aaron made a dumb and factually inaccurate joke about Jimmy Kimmel. It should never have happened. We all realized that in the moment," ESPN executive Mike Foss told Front Office Sports.
Rodgers often dips his toes into political commentary on The Pat McAfee Show, drawing chuckles from the panelists. In the past, he has called President Joe Biden Weekend at Bernie's, labeled Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce "Mr. Pfizer" for his public support of the COVID-19 vaccine, and repeatedly mocked former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, who became the public face of the COVID-19 vaccine's roll out.
On Monday, Rodgers also told reporters the Jets need to "flush the bulls***" as they look to move forward from a disappointing season.
"If you want to be a winning organization and put yourself in position to win championships and be competitive, everything that you do matters," Rodgers said. "And the bulls*** that has nothing to do with winning needs to get out of the building. So that'll be the focus moving forward."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Tom Westerholm is a Sports & Culture Reporter for Newsweek. Prior to joining Newsweek, he was the Boston Celtics beat ... Read more
