ESPN
After a few days of controversy, ESPN has released an official statement regarding Aaron Rodgers’ potentially defamatory comments about Jimmy Kimmel.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Rodgers implied that Kimmel — who, similar to McAfee and ESPN, are employed by The Walt Disney Company — is an associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
Rodgers’ comments made immediately headlines and Kimmel responded by threatening litigation.
On Friday, January 5, ESPN released a statement about Rodgers’ comments, categorizing them as a “joke” and calling them “dumb.”
“Pat announced today that he’s planning on Aaron joining the show on Tuesday. “Aaron made a dumb and factually inaccurate joke about Jimmy Kimmel. It should never have happened. We all realized that in the moment.” The show will continue to evolve. It wouldn’t surprise me if Aaron’s role evolves with it,” Mike Foss told Front Office Sports.
Rodgers’ comments has caused all sorts of headaches at ESPN, as McAfee issued a vague apology on Wednesday morning before saying on his Friday show that someone within the company is trying to sabotage him.
The 40-year-old New York Jets quarterback who tore his Achilles just four snaps into the year after spending his offseason drinking ayahuasca in a South American forest, meanwhile, hasn’t said anything about the controversy since Tuesday, leaving his buddy McAfee to clean up his mess.
As for the potential lawsuit, sources told Front Office Sports that the threat of litigation will hang over Rodgers’ head for “as far as Kimmel wants to take it.”
“This will go as far as Kimmel wants to take it. [Kimmel] is the non-cartoon face of Disney… Jimmy Kimmel Live! is five days a week, 52 weeks a year. He prints money for Disney… He’s also a very sensitive guy,” the source said.
Given that Rodgers will be appearing on McAfee’s show again next Tuesday, it’ll be interesting to see whether he issues an apology or broaches the subject at all.