Aaron Rodgers took a shot at comedian Jimmy Kimmel during Rodgers' weekly spot on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday.
The late-night talk show host let it be known that he won't be tolerating Rodgers' quips in no uncertain terms.
Rodgers mentioned Kimmel's name in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein list, a soon-to-be-released document that is expected to provide the names of more than 150 people associated with the former hedge fund manager, who was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July of 2019.
Naturally, that drew the ire of Kimmel, who not-so-subtly hinted that he would consider filing a defamation lawsuit against Rodgers if he continued to bandy about Kimmel's name in such a way.
Rodgers and Kimmel have feuded in the past. Kimmel poked fun at Rodgers in March of 2023 for insisting that information about UFOs was released to prevent the Epstein list from becoming public.
"Might be time to revisit that concussion protocol," Kimmel cracked on his show after referring to Rodgers as a "wack Packer."
That exchange is likely what caused Rodgers to reference Kimmel in such a fashion Tuesday.
Still, Kimmel was unamused by Rodgers' comments. That could create an issue for ESPN even if he doesn't follow through on his threats to take the long-time NFL quarterback to court.
Why? Because Kimmel works for ABC, which, like ESPN, is owned by Disney. The company certainly won't be happy to see Rodgers — who makes nearly $1 million annually to appear on "The Pat McAfee Show" — taking shots at one of their more prominent, public-facing entertainment figures.
So, there's a lot to watch in this Kimmel vs. Rodgers feud as it simmers. Here's what to know about it as it stands right now.
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Jimmy Kimmel vs. Aaron Rodgers lawsuit threat
Kimmel's lawsuit threat against Rodgers came via a post on X (formerly Twitter) that highlighted what Rodgers had said about Kimmel and Epstein on McAfee's show.
Kimmel then implied that he could seek out a defamation suit after Rodgers' "reckless words put [his] family in danger."
Dear Aasshole: 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.
What did Aaron Rodgers say?
Rodgers' remarks about Kimmel were brief, but they were in reference McAfee's co-host — former Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk — asking about the imminent release of the Epstein list.
"There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out," Rodgers said, before adding, "If that list comes out, I'll definitely be popping some sort of bottle."
Rodgers' response may well have been a joke and a dig designed to get back at Kimmel for his remarks against Rodgers in March.
Still, the Jets quarterback will need to be a bit careful about what he says. If he says Kimmel's name is on that list without proof, the comedian could build a defamation case around those remarks.
For now, however, this feud remains limited to a verbal barb and a post on X.
Pat McAfee addresses Aaron Rodgers-Jimmy Kimmel feud
McAfee had to confront the issue between Rodgers and Kimmel at the start of his show on Wednesday.
McAfee didn't quite apologize for Rodgers' remark and instead wrote it on as an attempt to make a "s— talk joke." That said, he acknowledged that he understood why Kimmel took offense to the joke made given the serious nature of the Epstein list.
"There’s no formal outline of what we’re going to talk about, how we’re going to talk about it," McAfee explained of Rodgers' guest spot. "There is just an opportunity to talk about damn near everything for three and a half hours. And in doing so, the upside of that is some magic will come that you never knew would come … on the flip side, there can be some things that could be certainly, probably, and we’re going to have to hear from Aaron on that, meant to be s— talk jokes that then leads to a massive overnight story.
“But I can see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially with his position. But I think Aaron was just trying to talk s—. Now, did it go too far? Jimmy Kimmel certainly said that was the case. We and I, immediately upon it happening, tried to go, ‘ooh, ooh, ooh, no.’ But that is Aaron and Jimmy."
McAfee further detailed that he didn't want to stoke controversy or create negativity on his show. His goal is to make the program "an uplifting one."
“We obviously don’t like the fact that we’re associated with anything negative ever,” McAfee said. “We 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 of allegations."
Kimmel hasn't yet responded to McAfee's statement and it's unclear whether he will.
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What is the Jeffrey Epstein list?
The Epstein "list" isn't actually a singular document. It's a collection of hundreds of documents from a lawsuit related to Epstein, a convicted sex offender. The documents are to be unsealed at some point after Jan. 1, 2024.
The decision to unseal the documents was rendered by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska. The process is expected to reveal alleged co-conspirators, alleged perpetrators and alleged victims and witnesses, per ABC. The names of Epstein's former employees will also be revealed as a part of this while a handful of names will remain sealed.
It is estimated that there will be over 150 names revealed once the list is released. All were mentioned as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell that has since been settled.