Aaron Rodgers returned to the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. He blasted ESPN executives and the mainstream media for trying to cancel him after his comments insinuating that Jimmy Kimmel could be on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s client list.
On Wednesday, Pat McAfee canceled Aaron Rodgers for the remainder of the NFL season.
“There will be a lot of people who are happy with that, myself included, to be honest with you,” McAfee said. “The way it ended, it got really loud. I am happy that he’s not going to be in my mentions going forward, which is great news.”
The move is quite surprising since McAfee has been fiercely loyal to Rodgers before and during “Kimmel Gate.” In addition, according to reports, it is McAfee himself who has creative control and books guests on his show. So, presumably, it would have been his call to cut Rodgers.
According to New York Post sports media reporter Andrew Marchand, the plan was to retain the Jets’ QB as a guest throughout the playoffs.
Rodgers used his appearance Tuesday to downplay his comments toward Kimmel and take aim at ESPN executives seeking to “cancel” him.
𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: #Jets Aaron Rodgers responds to Jimmy Kimmel. 😂😂😂
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 9, 2024
“I think it’s impressive a man who went to Arizona State and has 10 joke writers can read off a prompter”pic.twitter.com/Qq59z6AaS7 https://t.co/4cTIMUqonm
McAfee himself has had harsh words for ESPN management. On Monday, he blasted longtime ESPN Senior Vice President of Studio and Event Production Norby Williamson, calling him “a rat” after info revealing poor ratings for the show was leaked to the media.
Pat McAfee just called one of his ESPN bosses, Norby Williamson, a rat on air and said he was actively sabotaging the show. Get your popcorn! No doubt this is true, btw. Definitely some in ESPN attacking PM from inside: pic.twitter.com/TmztKuX4A5
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 5, 2024
McAfee is in the first year of a five-year, $85 million deal he signed with ESPN over the summer.
