Aaron Rodgers’ beef with popular talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is reportedly causing some tension behind the scenes at ESPN.
During his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, Rodgers hinted that Kimmel’s name could show up on Jeffrey Epstein’s client list. Kimmel fired back on X/Twitter at Rodgers and threatened to argue the facts in court. (WARNING: Tweet below contains language that is NSFW):
In an update, Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports report that the Rodgers-Kimmel feud has put ESPN in a bind as they try to figure out how to deal with Kimmel’s lawsuit threat. Keep in mind that his show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, is broadcast by the ABC. Both ESPN and ABC are owned by The Walt Disney Company:
“Jimmy Kimmel’s scorched earth response to Aaron Rodgers’s latest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show has opened up “a big can of worms” inside ESPN, sources tell Front Office Sports.
On Wednesday, ESPN executives were still figuring out how to respond to Kimmel’s threat to sue Rodgers after the Jets’ quarterback suggested that the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be on the list of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s associates.”
One ESPN source also told Front Office Sports the following:
“This is a big can of worms for the new PR boss at ESPN [Josh Krulewitz], and for Disney/ABC. McAfee’s show is dangerous—but it gets viewers and makes money. Rodgers has a deal with McAfee’s show that would be tough to void. Both Rodgers and McAfee don’t care about repercussions.”
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Over the past two years, Rodgers has spread misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines while floating several conspiracy theories. Despite plenty of pushback and warnings from vaccine experts regarding Rodgers’ words, ESPN executives have always just let the four-time league MVP express himself openly and freely on McAfee’s program.
But Kimmel’s words against Rodgers certainly put executives in a tough spot. The McAfee program will always draw high viewership, with or without Rodgers. They’re simply not going to fire Kimmel and cancel his show that averages over one million viewers.
Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how ESPN tries to sort through the rift without upsetting Kimmel, McAfee and perhaps Rodgers any further.
