Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! for his first show of the year and delivered a scathing monologue following Aaron Rodgers’ baseless suggestion that the comedian was linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
On Monday, the comedian roasted the quarterback for seven minutes, describing him as a “hamster brain man” who “thinks he knows what the government is up to because he’s a quarterback doing research on YouTube and listening to podcasts.”
Last week, Rodgers said on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show that he would pop “some sort of bottle” once a “list” of Epstein associates was released, and that “a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel,” were hoping said list wouldn’t come out. Unsurprisingly, Kimmel’s name was nowhere to be found among the hundreds of pages of unsealed records that were part of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 civil case against Ghislaine Maxwell.
In response to the Jets star’s thoughtless comments, Kimmel threatened to take Rodgers to court. While Kimmel took time out of his holiday break to address the “Aasshole” on X (formerly Twitter), the host double downed on Monday evening.
“I don’t know Jeffrey Epstein. I’ve never met Jeffrey Epstein. I was not on a list, or a plane, or an island or anything ever,” began Kimmel during his opening monologue. “I suggested that if Aaron wanted to make false and very damaging statements like that, that we should do it in court so he could share his proof with, like, a judge. Because when you hear a guy who won a Super Bowl and did all the State Farm commercials say something like this, a lot of people believe him. A lot of delusional people honestly believe that I am meeting up with Tom Hanks and Oprah at Shakey’s once a week to eat pizza and drink the blood of children.”
After figuring Rodgers had retaliated for a 2023 segment on his show that took a jab at the quarterback’s soft spot for conspiracy theories, Kimmel went on to propose that Rodgers was suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect — “a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities.”
“Aaron Rodgers has a very high opinion of himself, because he had success on the football field, he believes himself to be an extraordinary being. He genuinely thinks that because God gave him the ability to throw a ball, he’s smarter than everyone else. The idea that his brain is just average is unfathomable to him. We learned during COVID somehow he knows more about science than scientists,” he continued.
Kimmel clarified that he is not “one of those people who thinks athletes and members of the sports media should stick to talking about sports,” and said that Rodgers “has the right to express any opinion he wants to but saying someone is a pedophile is not an opinion, nor is it trash talk. Sorry, Pat McAfee.”
For those arguing that his show “says things about people all the time,” Kimmel countered that “we don’t make up lies.” He added, “We have a team of people who work very hard to sift through facts and reputable sources before I make a joke and that’s an important distinction.”
Kimmel noted that while he does get things wrong on occasion, he apologizes for it, and suggested that Rodgers should do the same. “Which is what Aaron Rodgers should do. Which is what a decent person would do,” said the late-night host. “But I bet he won’t. If he does, you know what I’ll do, I’ll accept his apology and move on. But he probably won’t do that.”
Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! for his first show of the year and delivered a scathing monologue following Aaron Rodgers’ baseless suggestion that the comedian was linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
On Monday, the comedian roasted the quarterback for seven minutes, describing him as a “hamster brain man” who “thinks he knows what the government is up to because he’s a quarterback doing research on YouTube and listening to podcasts.”
Last week, Rodgers said on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show that he would pop “some sort of bottle” once a “list” of Epstein associates was released, and that “a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel,” were hoping said list wouldn’t come out. Unsurprisingly, Kimmel’s name was nowhere to be found among the hundreds of pages of unsealed records that were part of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 civil case against Ghislaine Maxwell.
In response to the Jets star’s thoughtless comments, Kimmel threatened to take Rodgers to court. While Kimmel took time out of his holiday break to address the “Aasshole” on X (formerly Twitter), the host double downed on Monday evening.
“I don’t know Jeffrey Epstein. I’ve never met Jeffrey Epstein. I was not on a list, or a plane, or an island or anything ever,” began Kimmel during his opening monologue. “I suggested that if Aaron wanted to make false and very damaging statements like that, that we should do it in court so he could share his proof with, like, a judge. Because when you hear a guy who won a Super Bowl and did all the State Farm commercials say something like this, a lot of people believe him. A lot of delusional people honestly believe that I am meeting up with Tom Hanks and Oprah at Shakey’s once a week to eat pizza and drink the blood of children.”
After figuring Rodgers had retaliated for a 2023 segment on his show that took a jab at the quarterback’s soft spot for conspiracy theories, Kimmel went on to propose that Rodgers was suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect — “a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities.”
“Aaron Rodgers has a very high opinion of himself, because he had success on the football field, he believes himself to be an extraordinary being. He genuinely thinks that because God gave him the ability to throw a ball, he’s smarter than everyone else. The idea that his brain is just average is unfathomable to him. We learned during COVID somehow he knows more about science than scientists,” he continued.
Kimmel clarified that he is not “one of those people who thinks athletes and members of the sports media should stick to talking about sports,” and said that Rodgers “has the right to express any opinion he wants to but saying someone is a pedophile is not an opinion, nor is it trash talk. Sorry, Pat McAfee.”
For those arguing that his show “says things about people all the time,” Kimmel countered that “we don’t make up lies.” He added, “We have a team of people who work very hard to sift through facts and reputable sources before I make a joke and that’s an important distinction.”
Kimmel noted that while he does get things wrong on occasion, he apologizes for it, and suggested that Rodgers should do the same. “Which is what Aaron Rodgers should do. Which is what a decent person would do,” said the late-night host. “But I bet he won’t. If he does, you know what I’ll do, I’ll accept his apology and move on. But he probably won’t do that.”