Jimmy Kimmel angrily responded Tuesday to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ comment suggesting the late-night TV host’s name might appear in records mentioning people linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
What You Need To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel angrily responded Tuesday to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ comment suggesting the late-night TV host’s name might appear in records mentioning people linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
- During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers said, "There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out"
- Kimmel took to X, formerly Twitter, to excoriate Rodgers and threatened legal action, writing, "I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein"
- Last month, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the public disclosure of the identities of more than 150 people mentioned in a mountain of court documents related to Epstein
Rodgers made the remark during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” an ESPN sports talk show.
“There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said.
“I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle,” the four-time NFL MVP said.
Kimmel took to X, formerly Twitter, to excoriate Rodgers and threatened legal action.
“Dear [expletive]: 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 wrote.
“Your reckless words put my family in danger,” he added. “Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
Last month, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the public disclosure of the identities of more than 150 people mentioned in a mountain of court documents related to Epstein, a wealthy financier, saying that most of the names were already public and that many had not objected to the release.
At least some of the records are expected to be released Wednesday.
The people whose names are to be disclosed, including sex abuse victims, litigation witnesses, Epstein’s employees — and even some people with only a passing connection to the scandal — had until Jan. 1 to appeal the order.
In March, Kimmel joked on his show about comments Rodgers made during another appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” when the NFL star discussed UFOs and the possibility of an Epstein list being released.
“I believe that this been going on for a long time,” Rodgers said of UFOs. “Interesting timing on everything. There’s a lot of other things going on in the world. … Did you hear about the Epstein client list about to be released, too? There’s some files that have some names on it that might be getting released pretty soon.”
Kimmel aired the clip and then joked: “It might be time to revisit the concussion protocol, Aaron.”
The Epstein case has spawned countless conspiracy theories about the possible involvement of rich and powerful people in sex trafficking.
The three criminal cases brought by federal and state authorities, however, have focused on allegations about sexual abuse by Epstein himself and Maxwell.
Epstein took his own life in August 2019 in a federal lockup in Manhattan as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. He was accused of luring numerous underage girls to his homes under the guise of giving him massages, and then sexually abusing them.
Maxwell, 61, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in December 2021 of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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