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When Jimmy Kimmel returned to his namesake late-night show on Monday, he spent more than seven minutes responding to “hamster-brained” Aaron Rodgers’ false insinuation that he would be named in the recently unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents.
As previously reported, the New York Jets quarterback made the false claim on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this month, immediately spurring a tweeted response from Kimmel that included mention of potential legal action.
Monday night, Kimmel reiterated the need for legal action should Rodgers continue making such remarks. He also elaborated further on how the spread of such falsehoods not only affect him, but also members of his family.
"Now we’re hearing from lots more of them thanks to Aaron Rodgers, who I guess believes one of two things," Kimmel said, as seen in the video above. "Either he actually believes my name was gonna be on Epstein’s list, which is insane, or the more likely scenario is he 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. He’s particularly upset, I think, because I made fun of the fact that he floated this wacko idea that the UFO sightings that were in the news in February were being reported to distract us from the Epstein list."
In short, Kimmel said, Rodgers and his “Thanksgiving Day Parade-sized ego” made the false claim in retaliation.
“This is how these nuts do it now,” he said. “You don’t like Trump? You’re a pedophile! It’s their go-to move, and it shows much they actually care about pedophilia.”
From there, Kimmel explained he’s “seen guys like [Rodgers] before” during his career, pointing out that Rodgers’ success in the world of football has led to him having “a very high opinion of himself,” even in areas where he isn’t qualified to speak with any actual authority or level of expertise.
“He genuinely thinks that because God gave him the ability to throw a ball, he’s smarter than everyone else,” he said. “The idea that his brain is just average is unfathomable to him.”
Rodgers, Kimmel added, is simply “too arrogant to know how ignorant he is,” citing this aspect of the NFL star as an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
“Aaron got two A’s on his report card. They were both in the word ‘Aaron,’” Kimmel said.
As for those who have attempted to argue that Rodgers falsely linking Kimmel to Epstein was the same as the comedian making jokes about other public figures on his show, the returning Oscars host pinpointed the sheer lack of basic logic in such an argument.
“Saying someone is a pedophile is not an opinion, nor is it trash talk,” Kimmel said, adding that he and his late-night team go through great lengths to ensure they aren’t spreading “lies” on the show.
Kimmel added that he doesn't expect to get a full-fledged apology from Rodgers, though he "will accept" one should Rodgers end up surprising him.
See more from Kimmel up top, including a closing bit that included archival footage of Trump with Epstein.
As a reminder, Kimmel's name does not appear in any documents related to convicted sex offender Epstein, whose death behind bars in 2019 was formally ruled a suicide.
