Although the very network that broadcasts "The Pat McAfee Show" said Aaron Rodgers made a "dumb" joke about late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the four-time MVP is saying he was taken out of context.
Rodgers made the rounds last month when he said on the ESPN show that Kimmel would be "really hoping" Epstein's client list wouldn't be released.
It was widely considered that the New York Jets quarterback was insinuating Kimmel would be on the list, a notion the late-night host vehemently denied.
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However, Rodgers recently appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast and said that was not at all what he meant and that he was attacked for being "the anti-vax guy."
"So, when you were saying that he doesn’t want that list to come out, you weren’t saying that he was on that list?" Rogan asked.
"No. Nobody watched the f--king clip," Rodgers replied. "That’s why. They just saw a headline and [were like] ‘Oh, it’s the anti-vax guy again, let’s hammer him.'"
ESPN issued an apology for Rodgers' "dumb and factually inaccurate" statement.
McAfee, the former Indianapolis Colts punter, apologized for "being a part of" the drama that came about afterward.
"We obviously don’t like the fact that we’re associated with anything negative, ever," McAfee said. "We like our show to be an uplifting one. A happy one. A fun one. But it’s because we talk s--- and try to make light of everything. Some things obviously people get very p---ed off about, especially when they’re that serious of allegations."
"Hopefully, those two will be able to settle this."
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McAfee later said he was "canceled by both parties" in the aftermath and then called out ESPN for "sabotaging" him and his show.
Nearly 200 names previously redacted from court documents in a lawsuit against Epstein's former lover and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, were made public after a federal judge in New York ordered their unsealing last month.
McAfee, who also began co-hosting "College GameDay" this past September, recently signed an $85 million deal with ESPN.
Rodgers was traded to the Jets last year, but he ruptured an Achilles tendon on just his fourth snap with the team, causing him to miss the rest of the season.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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