Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not return to “The Pat McAfee Show” for the remainder of this season, host Pat McAfee announced Wednesday.
“So ‘Aaron Rodgers Tuesday’ Season 4, is done,” McAfee said at the beginning of Wednesday’s episode. “There could be a lot of people that are happy with that. Myself included, to be honest with you. 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.”
Rodgers was originally planned to appear on the show through the NFL playoffs, which kick off this weekend. He has been an outspoken critic of the COVID vaccine and Dr. Anthony Fauci and has repeatedly discussed conspiracy theories during his segments.
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“Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Famer, he’s a four-time MVP, he’s a massive piece of the NFL story. Whenever you go back and tell it he will be a huge part of it. We are very lucky to get the chance to chat with him and learn from him. Some of his thoughts and opinions, though, do piss off a lot of people,” McAfee said. “I’m pumped that that is no longer going to be every single Wednesday of my life, which it has been for the last few weeks.”
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The last week has been a whirlwind of drama for Rodgers and McAfee after the New York Jets quarterback made controversial, and false, comments about comedian Jimmy Kimmel being on Jeffrey Epstein’s unsealed list of associates.
Last Tuesday, Rodgers said that, “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out” and “If that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.” Kimmel, who’s had a longstanding feud with Rodgers, fired back immediately. He wrote on X, “Dear Asshole: 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.”
Kimmel blasted Rodgers on his late-night show this week, saying he’s a “hamster-brained man” who “thinks he knows what the government is up to because he’s a quarterback doing research on YouTube and listening to podcasts.”
Rodgers reappeared on “The Pat McAfee” show yesterday and addressed his comments about Kimmel, but stopped short of apologizing.
“I still haven’t popped a bottle because there hasn’t been any list that’s come out. I’m glad Jimmy is not on the list. I really am. I don’t think he’s the P-word,” he said. “It’s impressive that a man who went to Arizona State and has 10 joke writers can read off a prompter,” Rodgers quipped. “My education at [junior college] and my three semesters at Cal, that I’m very proud of, has worked out for me and I’m glad to see it’s worked out for him as well. I wish him the best. Again, 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, then I’m all for moving forward.”