Television host Jimmy Kimmel threatened to take Aaron Rodgers to court after the NFL star suggested Kimmel could be linked to the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Rodgers' controversial comments, made during a recent appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show," prompted a swift response from Kimmel on social media platform X.
"Dear A**hole: for the record, I've not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein..." Kimmel wrote, adding that his only link to Epstein was 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 wrote.
Rodgers' remarks appeared to be in response to a joke Kimmel made on his late-night show last year, following a conversation where Rodgers talked about Epstein and UFOs on an earlier episode of the "Pat McAfee Show," Variety reported.
Kimmel played the clip of Rodgers, saying, "It might be time to revisit the concussion protocol, Aaron," before referring to the quarterback as a "tin-foil hatter."
In August 2019, Epstein died by suicide in a federal Manhattan jail while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking charges. He was accused of luring underage girls to his homes with former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell under the guise of massages, then sexually assaulting them.
Maxwell, 61, is currently serving a 20-year prison term after her December 2021 conviction for aiding Epstein in recruiting and sexually exploiting underage girls.
Earlier in November 2021, Kimmel also criticized Rodgers, who plays for the New York Jets, for attempting to conceal his unvaccinated status, calling him out for claiming he tested negative 300 times before a positive test.
Kimmel likened his reasoning to that of a 95-year-old grandmother trying to justify retaining her driver's license.
"The fact of the matter is the risk of dying from COVID is 11 times higher if you are not vaccinated," Kimmel said, according to the Daily Mail. "This is a dumb conversation, but you'll never guess who this wack Packer has been getting his medical advice from."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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