Jimmy Kimmel has threatened legal action against New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for suggesting the late-show host flew on a private jet belonging to the late and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Rodgers made the remarks as new information from a lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell is set to be released. Court documents from 2015, due to be unsealed this week, are thought to contain further details about Epstein's high-profile connections.
Kimmel denied any association with Epstein, adding he would take Rodgers to court if the allegations were repeated. However, a bogus copy of the flight log shared shortly after by another football player attempted to add credibility to the claim.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, on January 2, 2024, by sports account @_MLFootball, included a screenshot of a post by David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers, which included what appeared to be a copy of the Epstein flight log with the word "IMMEL" following redacted text.
The post by @_MLFootball read "DAMN... #Packers David Bakhtiari posted the log showing that legendary late-night show Jimmy Kimmel visited Jeffrey Epstein's island, it has since been deleted.
"Their beef goes back to when Kimmel made fun of Rodgers for not taking the vaccine so David said 'Tell me you're on the Jeffrey Epstein client list, without telling me you're on the Jeffrey Epstein client list....'"
The Facts
The post by Bakhtiari is an edited copy of Epstein flight logs obtained by now-defunct news site Gawker in 2015. These do not contain the word "IMMEL" on the entry provided by Bakthiari, nor does it appear elsewhere in the document.
No information elsewhere suggests Kimmel associated with or knew Jeffrey Epstein, as per Kimmel's statement responding to Aaron Rodgers. Newsweek has previously reported the names that were mentioned in the court papers.
Kimmel took to Twitter after Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show mentioning the chat show host's name while discussing the unsealing of new court papers related to Epstein.
"Dear Aa*****e: 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 posted.
"Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.@AaronRodgers12."
What's unclear is where the edited image came from. Versions of it have been shared on forums including Reddit and 4Chan, but not before Bakhtiari shared the image. Reverse image searches of the fake flight log did not provide any results before Bakhtiari's tweet on January 1, 2023.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for the Green Bay Packers for comment.
This is not the first time that famous names have been inaccurately linked to the Epstein flight records. In February 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was incorrectly linked to the log.
New court documents due to be unsealed this week could reveal new information about Epstein's connections with the rich and famous.
A judge signed an order on December 18 for the public release of the identities of more than 150 people mentioned in court documents from a now-settled 2015 civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre that centered on allegations that Epstein's associate and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell facilitated her sexual abuse. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.
The Ruling
False.
Jimmy Kimmel's name is not in the flight logs. It is an edited version of flight log documents obtained by the press in 2015. There is no other information within them that links Jimmy Kimmel to Jeffrey Epstein.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
