Aaron Rodgers Will Not Return to The Pat McAfee Show Following Feud with Jimmy Kimmel

Aaron Rodgers will not be returning to The Pat McAfee Show for the remainder of the NFL season, the show’s host confirmed Wednesday.

McAfee, 36, had said that Rodgers’ weekly appearances as a guest on the show would come to an end following the regular season, as planned.

However, the host said he was relieved Rodgers would have a break from appearing on the program following comments the NFL quarterback made last week, in which he claimed that COVID-19 vaccines could be linked to pedophilia.

The comments led to a highly publicized feud between Rodgers, 40, and the late-night host, 56, causing Kimmel to threaten to sue the quarterback. The issue was also widely debated on social media, where McAfee said he received a deluge of messages about the non-sports related issue.

‘I’m pumped that that is no longer gonna be every single Wednesday of my life,’ McAfee said Wednesday.

‘There’s gonna be a lot of people that are happy with that, myself included,’ the host added. ‘To be honest, the way it ended, it got real loud… I’m happy that he’s not gonna be [in] my mentions going forward, which is great news.’

Last week, Rodgers implied Kimmel was associated with Epstein, the disgraced financier who died while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges in August 2019.

Rodgers made reference to Kimmel while discussing a rumored ‘list’ containing names of influential people involved with Epstein.

‘A lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are hoping that doesn’t come out,’ the New York Jets quarterback said during his appearance on the ESPN show.

Such a rumored list was never released by authorities, but unredacted court documents regarding Epstein released last week did not include Kimmel’s name.

Rodgers’ comment prompted a response from the late-night talk show host, who denied any connection to Epstein.

‘Dear [Aa–hole]: for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, 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. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court,’ he tweeted that same day.

The following week, the comedian began his first show of the new year with mention of the controversy.

While reiterating that he had no ties to Epstein, Kimmel also pointed out differences between comments on his late-night show and comments made by Rodgers.

‘And as far as the ‘Well, you say things about people all the time’ argument goes, yes, I do. It’s not the same. It’s not even close to the same,’ Kimmel said. ‘We say a lot of things on this show. We don’t make up lies. In fact, we have a team of people who work very hard to sift through facts and reputable sources before I make a joke, and that’s an important distinction — a joke about someone.’

He also said the athlete would be ‘a decent person’ to apologize.

When Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show after hearing Kimmel’s plea, he addressed the issue but stopped short of apologizing, instead going on a five-minute rant about COVID-19 vaccines and how he and Kimmel disagree on the medical issue. He then announced that he would no longer be appearing on the show.

‘I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be, so for him to be upset about that, I get it,’ Rodgers said, without apologizing.