Aaron Rodgers Returns Serve, Says He Never Accused Jimmy Kimmel Of 'Pedophilia' On Pat McAfee Show

Aaron Rodgers appeared on the "Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday for the first time since he referenced Jimmy Kimmel sweating the release of the Jeffrey Epstein client list.

Kimmel responded to Rodgers - after threatening legal action -- Monday night on ABC, referring to him as an uninformed "Karen."

Rodgers says Kimmel took his comments out of context, that he never accused him of being a pedophile.

“I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be,” Rodgers said. “So, for him to be upset about that, I get it. Did you watch the quote? Because that’s exactly what I said — verbatim, what I said — on the show.

“I’m not stupid enough — even though you think I’m an idiot and you made a lot of comments about my intelligence — but I’m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence. That’s ridiculous.”

Rodgers then called out ESPN Senior VP Mike Foss. Last Friday, Foss released a statement characterizing Rodgers' joke about Kimmel as "dumb and factually inaccurate."

“But I don’t understand Mike Foss’ comment,” Rodgers continued. “He didn’t help out either. And I’m gonna quote Mike Foss. He said, ‘Aaron made a dumb and factually incorrect joke about Jimmy Kimmel. It should never have happened. We all realized that in the moment.’ Mike, you’re not helping. You’re not helping because I just read earlier exactly what I said."

Foss oversees McAfee's show day-to-day. Meaning, two of McAfee's ESPN bosses have been criticized on his ESPN program since Friday.

McAfee called executive Norby Williamson a "rat" trying to "sabotage" his show last week.

Rodgers eventually told McAfee he wanted to "move past" his feud with Kimmel. But it won't be that easy.

The media is engrossed in the battle, unwilling to let it lose an ounce of steam. The feud has become tribal and political.

Statistically, Kimmel hosts the most liberal show in late-night. Rodgers, while not a conservative, voices a conservative-adjacent perspective on topics like the vaccine, masks, and wokeness.

Rodgers discussed the media's role below:

All the while Disney execs must be cringing.

Let's recap:

Jimmy Kimmel is Disney's highest-paid talk show host. McAfee is the company's highest-paid sports host. Kimmel is feuding with McAfee's most notable guest, and perhaps McAfee himself.

Two high-ranking ESPN executives have already caught strays, as a result. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro reportedly called Kimmel to apologize.

The Kimmel vs. Rodgers/McAfee spat has further divided the locker room at ESPN, per sources.

Yeah, this doesn't seem over.

Related column: ESPN Sold Out To Pat McAfee, Now Plays By His Rules | Bobby Burack