ESPN
The fallout from Aaron Rodgers’ comments about Jimmy Kimmel on The Pat McAfee Show continues, as Stephen A. Smith addressed the controversy on his podcast.
Speaking on the Wednesday, January 3 episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the 56-year-old First Take star weighed in on Rodgers using ESPN’s airwaves to suggest that Jimmy Kimmel was an associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
Both Smith and Kimmel cut checks from The Walt Disney Company, as the Mouse House owns both Kimmel’s network ABC and Smith’s network ESPN.
“Let me say this to Aaron Rodgers: Jeffrey Epstein has nothing to joke about. Aaron Rodgers should apologize, just plain and simple,” Smith said.
“In this world, we got people that’s scared to apologize if you’re wrong because it incriminates you somehow, someway to be exposing yourself for being wrong. Damn all that. We’re human beings first. If I said something egregiously wrong about somebody, and they point out factually that I’m wrong, I’d apologize.”
Kimmel and Smith are two of the highest-earning television talents employed by The Walt Disney Company, as Kimmel — who will be hosting this year’s Academy Awards — makes $15 million per year on ABC while Smith makes $12 million per year at ESPN.
While Rodgers has yet to apologize — or say anything at all, in fact — McAfee has, as he opened his show on Wednesday, January 3 with a lengthy diatribe about the incident in which the radio host categorized Rodgers’ comments as “just talking s—.”
Despite the national story that Rodgers created with his potentially defamatory comments, ESPN has yet to issue a statement on the matter. Furthermore, McAfee seemed to indicate that Rodgers would be making his usual weekly appearance next Tuesday.