Pat McAfee Addresses Aaron Rodgers’ Jeffrey Epstein List Claims: “I Can See Why Jimmy Kimmel Felt The Way He Felt”

Pat McAfee is clearing some things up after comments made by Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show that linked Jimmy Kimmel to the Jeffrey Epstein list of associates.

McAfee addressed the controversy at the top of his show on ESPN, noting that the ABC late-night talk show host had threatened legal action.

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The sports commentator said that he and his staff had been “free wheeling” after coverage of the Rose Bowl, taking note that his show doesn’t have a format and “there is an opportunity to talk about damn near everything for three and a half hours.”

“There could be some things that were certainly, probably — I mean we’re gonna have to hear from Aaron on that — meant to be shit talk joke that can then become something that is obviously a very serious allegation that then leads to a massive overnight story,” McAfee said.

He continued, “I can see why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially with his position. But I think Aaron was just trying to talk shit. Did it go too far? Jimmy Kimmel certainly said that was the case.”

McAfee recalled that Rodgers and Kimmel had been at odds in the pass over the comedian mocking the New York Jets quarterback for his conspiracy theories.

“We obviously don’t like the fact that we’re associated with anything negative ever. We’d like our show to be an uplifting one, a happy one, a fun one. But it’s because we talk shit and try to make light of everything,” McAfee explained. “Some things, obviously, people get very pissed off about, especially when they’re serious allegations. So we apologize for being a part of it. Can’t wait to hear what Aaron has to say about it. Hopefully, those two will just be able to settle this, not work-wise, but be able to chit chat, move along.”

Rodgers is a recurring guest on The Pat McAfee Show, making appearances every Tuesday.

The NFL star had made an appearance on McAfee’s show the day before where he joked that Kimmel was “hoping” the Epstein list didn’t come out, implying the late-night host could potentially be named.

Kimmel would respond to Rodgers on social media, denying his association with Epstein and telling him that his “reckless words put my family in danger.” The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host also threatened legal action if Rodgers continued making those references.

Disney owns both ABC and ESPN.

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Pat McAfee Apologizes After Aaron Rodgers Claimed Jimmy Kimmel Had Ties to Jeffrey Epstein

Pat McAfee is apologizing in the wake of a war of words between Jimmy Kimmel and Aaron Rodgers.

After the New York Jets quarterback said on Tuesday that Kimmel had ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — leading the talk show host to threaten to sue the athlete — McAfee shared Wednesday that he regrets the role his ESPN show has played in the dust-up.

“We obviously don’t like to be associated with anything negative ever,” McAfee, 36, said. “We’d like our show to be an uplifting one, a happy one, a fun one, but it’s because we talk s--- and try to make light of everything. Some things obviously people get very pissed off about, especially when they’re that-serious allegations.”

McAfee continued, “So we apologize 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, you know, not court-wise, but be able to chit-chat and move along, ‘cause remember, you’re allowed to disagree with people’s opinions.”

The former NFL punter added that he can understand both sides.

“With all that being said, I can understand why Jimmy got incredibly upset,” McAfee said. “Yeah, I completely understand that, especially with his position. But also I think Aaron is like, ‘Hey, this guy has said some stuff about me in his monologue,’ and he’s just trying to s--- talk.”

He concluded, “I don’t think he meant anything else, but he’s gonna have to clarify that for us. We would like just continue to be a place where people can escape life. In that moment, we didn’t for a lot of folks and for a lot of reasons. We shall move on.”

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Rodgers, in his appearance on the ESPN show Tuesday, spoke on an array of topics — including his desire to use psychedelics this off-season — when he mentioned Kimmel in passing after the topic turned to the impending release of a list containing names of high-profile people rumored to be associated with Epstein.

“A lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are hoping that doesn’t come out,” he said.

By Tuesday night, Kimmel pushed back on the 40-year-old signal-caller’s comments.

“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. @AaronRodgers12,” the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host posted on X. 

McAfee has experience with lawsuits emanating from comments made on his show.

Last February, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre filed lawsuits against him, Shannon Sharpe and a Mississippi state auditor, claiming that the three had defamed him and ruined his "good name" in the wake of his involvement in a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal.

According to the complaint, Favre claimed McAfee called him a "thief" who was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi" on his podcast.

On Wednesday’s show, the College GameDay co-host referenced the past litigation.

“It ended with me having to read a letter basically stating that I know nothing that anybody else doesn’t know publicly already, that I’m not in-the-know for that thing," McAfee said. "But that was a big thing for a long time."

Pat McAfee Addresses Jimmy Kimmel, Aaron Rodgers Controversy

Pat McAfee's willingness to let Aaron Rodgers' mind wander wherever it wants on ESPN got everybody involved into scalding water on Tuesday. Rodgers, while hitting his favorite topic of conspiracy theories, suggested that Jimmy Kimmel was associated with Jeffrey Epstein on the eve of the release of the names involved in his court case on Wednesday. He, of course, had zero evidence to back that up and just... said it, apparently without thinking of or expecting consequences.

Predictably, Kimmel was very displeased about this, called Rodgers "Aashole," and threatened to sue him. This is a problem for everybody because the New York Jets quarterback was on McAfee's show, which is aired by ESPN, which is owned by Disney, which also owns ABC, which broadcasts Jimmy Kimmel Live! and will have him hosting the Oscars in a month. In the video of Rodgers first saying it on Tuesday you can obviously tell that even McAfee realized in the moment that a big problem was unfolding before his eyes.

On Wednesday, McAfee opened his show by addressing the situation. He didn't really help. He said he doesn't want his show to be a place of negativity and regrets that the Kimmel comments caused such a storm, but also tried to excuse Rodgers by saying he was just trying to talk shit like football guys do in a football locker room.

On the one hand, there isn't a ton McAfee can say that would have much of an impact. He is enabling Rodgers by letting him on that platform but he didn't make the Jets QB say any of that stuff about Kimmel and apologizing on his behalf would be disingenuous. It also wouldn't stop Kimmel from suing, if he was so inclined. McAfee had to say something but nothing he could have said would have been adequate to put out the fire.

On the other hand, he definitely did not have to try to explain why Rodgers would say something like that! The smart move would've been to condemn the comments and shift the focus to why Rodgers would say that out loud, not where he said it out loud. McAfee can't completely absolve himself of blame but he can certainly distance himself from the person who might get his employer sued and he chose not to do that because they are buddies.

These Rodgers interviews started off as legitimately interesting glimpses into the mind of a great football player. Now they just give him a platform to air his bizarre, borderline psychotic grievances with the media and the world at large. The only remaining benefit is that McAfee gets to hang with his buddy for an hour every week and Rodgers gets paid.

It's a grift of the highest order. That's all it is. Rodgers is getting a check for hundreds of thousands of dollars so he can show a national audience how smart he thinks he is. He's probably laughing at Disney on his way to cash the check every week, because you know Rodgers has nothing good to say about legacy media companies. Both ESPN and McAfee should be ashamed for enabling this.

Perhaps this will be the straw that broke the camel's back. But based off how McAfee chose to address this, I really doubt it.