Aaron Rodgers Will No Longer Appear on The Pat McAfee Show After Jimmy Kimmel Controversy

Aaron Rodgers has been benched.  

Pat McAfee confirmed that the New York Jets quarterback would no longer be appearing on his eponymous ESPN show following a series of comments in which he appeared to suggest Jimmy Kimmel had possible connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"What we do know is the guy that stopped by yesterday started quite a conversation," McAfee said during the Jan. 10 episode of his show, referring to Aaron's appearance the previous day. "So Aaron Rodgers Tuesday Season 4 is done. There's gonna be a lotta people that are happy with that, myself included, to be honest."

The former NFL player, who previously apologized for his role in the controversy, continued, "With the way it ended, it got real loud. Real loud. I'm happy that he's not gonna be in my mentions going forward, which is great news."

E! News has reached out to a rep for Rodgers for comment but has not yet heard back. 

Rodgers, who had previously made weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, first called out Kimmel during the Jan. 2 appearance on McAfee's show, when he brought up the impending release of series of court documents related to Epstein. "A lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel," he alleged, "are really hoping that doesn't come out."

Kimmel, for his part, wasted no time in setting the record straight.

"Dear Aasshole: for the record, I've not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein," he wrote in a statement shared to X, formerly known as Twitter, "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," the late-night host, who is a father to four children, added. "Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court. @AaronRodgers12."

He further addressed Rodger's comments during his monologue on the Jan. 8 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. 

"My name wasn't on it, isn't on it, and won't ever be on it," the Emmy winner said. "I don't know Jeffrey Epstein, I've never met Jeffrey Epstein. I am not on a list, I was not on a plane, or an island, or anything ever."

Kimmel also speculated that Rodgers' comments were the result of the host's making fun of him on his show last year. 

"He's particularly upset, I think, because I made fun of the fact that he floated this wacko idea that the UFO sightings that were in the news in February were being reported to distract us from the Epstein list," Kimmel said. "That was Aaron's theory that he shared and I mocked." 

The next day, during his regular appearance on McAfee's show, Rodgers attempted to clarify his previous remarks—but didn't apologize to Kimmel.

"It's been an interesting week for sure," the NFL player admitted during the Jan. 9 episode. "Fast-forward to this last week and I said...and I'm quoting myself here, 'A lot of people including Jimmy Kimmel are really hoping that [list] doesn't come out.' End quote. That's what I said."

"I'm glad that Jimmy is not on the list. I really am. I don't think he's the P-word," he added, noting later during the episode he's aware how serious an allegation that is. He also shared he doesn't "give a s--t" what the host says about him during his show. 

"As long as he understands what I actually said, that I'm not accusing him of being on a list," Rodgers continued, "I'm all for moving forward."

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