Wait, Why Are Jimmy Kimmel and Aaron Rodgers Beefing?

If you had both "Aaron Rodgers vs. Jimmy Kimmel feud" and "Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories" on your 2024 bingo card, you're off to a pretty good start.

On Kimmel's Monday night episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the late night host spent seven minutes (!) bashing the quarterback on-air. Why? Well, for putting his name in conversation with Epstein, the late billionaire and convicted sex offender. It makes for a surprising headline, but for anyone who has been following along, it's just the latest development in a years' long battle between the two men.

The resurgence of the beef between the late night host and the athlete occurred last week when Rogers went on the Pat McAfee Show and, seemingly randomly, suggested that Kimmel should be worried that the latest list of Jeffrey Epstein's associates was going to be unsealed by the courts. "There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping [the list] doesn’t come out," Rogers said. "If that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle." Why would Rodgers put out that claim?

Well, it might be because of a spat between the two that began almost three years prior. Back then, Rodgers was involved in a scandal for lying to the NFL about his COVID-19 vaccination records. Kimmel made it the subject of a segment on Live!, and while he wasn't the only late night host to mock Rodgers's actions at the time, it appears to have tripped a wire. At least that's the reasoning Kimmel is going with.

"I don’t know, Jeffrey Epstein, I’ve never met Jeffrey Epstein," Kimmel said on his most-recent show. "The more likely scenario is, [Rodgers] doesn’t actually believe that he just said it because he’s mad at me for making fun of his top knot and his lies about being vaccinated... [Rodgers] saw that and maybe… he decided to insinuate that I am a pedophile. This is how these nuts do it now."

Kimmel didn't stop there. He called the former quarterback "Karen Rogers" and suggested that it "might be time" for the football legend to "revisit that concussion protocol." The on-air monologue followed an earlier response on social media, where Kimmel threatened to "debate the facts further in court" should Rodgers continue to spread misinformation.

"He genuinely thinks that because God gave him the ability to throw a ball, he’s smarter than everyone else," the late night host continued in his on-air barrage. "The idea that his brain is just average is unfathomable to him, we learned during COVID." He even added, "Aaron Rodgers is too arrogant to know how ignorant he is."

In response, Rodgers quickly returned to the Pat McAfee Show earlier Tuesday afternoon to respond to Kimmel's monologue. Addressing his dislike of the late night host, the athlete also doubled down on his distrust of the vaccine. "In my opinion, [Kimmel] ripped me about the vax and that turns out to be an L on many occasions because the vax was not safe and effective like we were told it was in the beginning," Rogers said. (Which, first of all, WHAT?!) Returning back to his Epstein comment, he conceded, "I’m glad that Jimmy is not on the list. I really am. I don’t think he’s the P-word."

"I totally understand how serious allegations of pedophilia would be," Rodgers continued. "So for him to be upset about that, I get it. I’m not stupid enough, even though you think I’m an idiot and you made a lot of comments about my intelligence, but I’m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence. That’s ridiculous." The athlete also took some shots at Kimmel's own IQ, saying that,"I think it’s impressive that a man who went to Arizona state and has ten joke writers can read it off the prompter." Rodgers then took a significant chunk of his time on the show to condemn pedophilia and call for the people who are actually on the list to be investigated.

McAfee had previously pseudo-apologized for the football player's comments on his program last week, despite bringing him back to defend himself. Earlier, he stated that Rodgers veered off from their pre-planned topics that day, adding that, "We try to make light of everything—some things people get very pissed off about, especially when they’re that serious of allegations. So we apologize for being a part of it."

Hopefully, both parties can move on. Kimmel said in his monologue that even if Rodgers refused to apologize, he would put the comments behind him. Likewise, Rodgers stated this afternoon that, "I don’t give a shit what he says about me. As long as he understands what I actually said and that I’m not accusing him of being on a list, I’m all for moving forward."

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