Jimmy Kimmel responded swiftly to Aaron Rodgers’ claims that the late-night host could show up on the highly anticipated Jeffrey Epstein associates list.
Kimmel and Rodgers have been trading slights in the media for years now, but during a Tuesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the New York Jets quarterback crossed a line for Kimmel when he hinted that the late-night host’s name could surface on the Epstein list. “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said.
“I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle,” Rodgers added, while speaking on the show from what appeared to be his wine cellar.
Kimmel reposted a video of Rodgers’ comments on X (formerly Twitter) with a forceful shutdown of Rodgers’ remarks. “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,” Kimmel wrote. “Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
In March 2023, Kimmel taunted Rodgers for his discourse around UFOs and the Epstein list when the quarterback made a February appearance on “Pat McAfee.”
“Needless to say, all this UFO talk has the tinfoil hatters going wild including Green Bay whack packer Aaron Rodgers, who offered this hot take on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,'” Kimmel joked during the segment before playing a clip of Rodgers’ remarks.
“Did you hear about the Epstein client list about to be released?” Rodgers says in the clip. “There’s some files that have some names on it that might be getting released pretty soon.”
Kimmel followed the clip by suggesting it might be time for Rodgers to “revisit the concussion protocol.”
In December, a judge ruled that a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims and associates — some of whom have been accused of involvement in Epstein’s exploitation and sexual abuse of underage girls — could be made public. The judge delayed the release until this month, to give those included an opportunity to appeal their listing.
According to CBS, more than 150 names may be made public as soon as this week as part of a settled civil lawsuit against the jet-setting socialite Ghislaine Maxwell — who was found guilty of conspiring with the disgraced financier to sexually abuse and traffic underage girls. The suit was brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Maxwell of recruiting her for abuse and detailed her experience with the predatory power couple in the 2020 documentary series “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein.”
In 2022, Maxwell, who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in helping Epstein.
Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial, sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting girls as young as 14. Prosecutors said he couldn’t have done so without the help of Maxwell, his onetime girlfriend and longtime companion.
The highly anticipated list of names could include Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators.
___
© 2024 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
