New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers denied he implied comedian Jimmy Kimmel was a pedophile and condemned those that do, however he stopped wanting apologizing for his position in escalating their burgeoning feud.
Rodgers returned to ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Present” on Tuesday for his weekly look and addressed feedback he made the week earlier than that appeared to recommend Kimmel’s identify would possibly seem on a listing of associates of Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire accused of intercourse trafficking involving underage victims earlier than he died by suicide.
“Any kind of identify calling is ridiculous and I am not calling him [a pedophile], and neither must you,” Rodgers stated on the present Tuesday.
Rodgers criticized Mike Foss, an ESPN govt who oversees McAfee’s present, for saying that Rodgers had made “a dumb and factually inaccurate joke” about Kimmel.
“Mike, you are not serving to,” Rodgers stated. “You are not serving to as a result of I simply learn earlier precisely what I stated. That is the sport plan of the media and that is what they do: They attempt to cancel, you recognize, and it is not simply me.”
Rodgers final week stated lots of people, “together with Jimmy Kimmel,” are actually hoping {that a} listing of Epstein’s associates does not come out publicly. Kimmel, who has denied any affiliation with Epstein, threatened Rodgers with a lawsuit for the remark and stated the NFL star was placing his household in peril.
Rodgers urged that individuals had been studying an excessive amount of into what he stated, that he was not silly sufficient to accuse Kimmel of being a pedophile.
‘An honest particular person would apologize’
Kimmel made the primary look of the yr Monday on his late-night present and laced into Rodgers. He stated he would settle for an apology from Rodgers however did not count on one.
Kimmel referred to as Rodgers “hamster-brained” and stated that he obtained two A’s on his report card — “they’re each within the identify Aaron.”
“It may be time to revisit that concussion profile, Aaron,” Kimmel stated.
Earlier than addressing his particular feedback, Rodgers had a prolonged preamble about his grudges towards Kimmel, together with jokes the comedian has made concerning the quarterback’s anti-COVID-19 vaccination feedback.
Even after that, he stated he did not care what Kimmel stated about him, “however so long as he understands what I really stated and that I am not accusing him of being on a listing … I am all for transferring ahead.”