Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Pat McAfee alluded to the Mary Kate Cornett legal situation he finds himself embroiled in at the Big Night AHT live event on Wednesday. He did so without mentioning the Ole Miss freshman by name, but used the defamation lawsuit Brett Favre filed against him as a reference point.
“I’m cool with Brett, just like the current situation that is happening, where I have a lot of people saying that I should be sued,” McAfee told the crowd. “I want to say this: I never, ever want to be a part of anything negative in anybody’s life, ever. That is not what I want to do. For all of these events, you f—— know it that my lawyers are Pittsburgh lawyers and they’re in here tonight. I do believe they have a suite here that I have certainly contributed to. Certainly. They have the same mindset as me: empathy, but understanding reality.
“And for that whole thing that’s happening, I didn’t want to add any negativity as it was taking place, like I did. We will try to figure that out and make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation. You can have that promise from me. It won’t be as impossible to be a fan of mine going forward.”
I'll never forget my first lawsuit 😂😂
We're good Brett Favre
I never wanna add negativity to a situation#BigNightAHT pic.twitter.com/nQFtoQSefL
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 10, 2025
For those unfamiliar, Mary Kate Cornett has said that she plans to take legal action against Pat McAfee and ESPN for amplifying a very negative false rumor which spread like wildfire on the internet.
“Having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world. It makes you feel so alone. It’s a horrible experience,” Cornett said during an interview with NBC Nightly News last week. “It was so insane. It all happened so fast. I was just in shambles. I just felt so helpless and so alone because so many people were hating on me for something that I had no idea anything about.”
The day after her interview, much like during his speech on Wednesday, Pat McAfee offered a very indirect response to the legal threats made by Mary Kate Cornett without mentioning her by name. He tried to excuse his past behavior with regard to internet gossip by reminding his fans that he doesn’t create narratives, he just observes what is happening and discusses it.