On CNN, prominent female sports journalist Jemele Hill didn’t hold back in calling out New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his outspoken comments on the mainstream media.
Hill criticized Rodgers for complaining about being censored while simultaneously expressing that his viewpoints are often dismissed as foolish.
Hill’s remarks included:
“Every week when you see Aaron Rodgers on Pat McAfee’s shows, it’s like you’re watching Newsmax,” Hill said. “I’m just trying to figure out where’s all of this going? The network is so funny because they spent a lot of time trying to remove themselves from being considered to be political because they were accused mostly by right wing conservatives of being too political or being too liberal, and now they seem to kind of embrace and run in a different direction.”
She continued:
“What really is annoying is that he’s on a weekly, mainstream media platform complaining about the mainstream media censoring him. Sir, you are not silenced, it’s just that people think a lot of the things that come out of your mouth are stupid.”
"Every week when you see Aaron Rodgers on the Pat McAfee Show, it is like you are watching Newsmax."
Former ESPN personality Jemele Hill on Aaron Rodgers' regular appearances on The Pat McAfee Show. pic.twitter.com/iXgvgHqmqM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 10, 2024
The controversy started last week when Aaron Rodgers made a comment related to Jeffrey Epstein during an episode of “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Rodgers suggested that there are individuals, including Jimmy Kimmel, who hope certain information doesn’t surface.
“There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping that doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said. “I”ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.”
Dear Aasshole: for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any “list” other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality. Your reckless… https://t.co/p8eug12uiS
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 2, 2024
Jimmy Kimmel swiftly responded by threatening legal action and vehemently denying any ties to Epstein or accusations of pedophilia.
Now, in Tuesday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers took issue with ESPN executive Mike Foss, who had slammed Rodgers’ joke about Kimmel as “dumb and factually inaccurate.”
Rodgers accused Foss of not being helpful and asserted that the media’s strategy is to cancel individuals.
He defended himself against various labels such as anti-vax, MAGA, and conspiracy theorists.
Rodgers addressed Foss, stating:
“Mike, you’re not helping. I just read earlier exactly what I said. This is the game plan of the media. This is what they do. They try and cancel. It’s not just me. It’s nowhere near just me. You look at all the different people who have been censored from the internet, especially during Covid — the canceling that went on, the censorship, using the government to try and censor people — and if that doesn’t work, they go to name-calling. I mentioned all the names that I’ve been called, and they don’t stick, because I’m not anti-vax. I’m interested in informed consent, and things that are in the best interest of my body. I’m not a MAGA. I’ve never had any affiliation with anybody associated with that movement, which is OK if you are though! There’s different opinions all over the place. If that’s your ideology, that’s fine! I’m not a super political person. Do whatever you want. Conspiracy theorist? That’s fine. Because if you’re looking at the track record of conspiracy theorists in the last few years, they’ve been right about a lot of things.”
Aaron Rodgers calls out Mike Foss, an EVP at ESPN on an ESPN show 🤣😂
“YOUR NOT HELPING MIKE.”
I predict the Pat McAFee + Aaron Rodgers days are numbered… MSM doesn’t like being called out, especially on their own network. pic.twitter.com/os7anKBCAA
— Mike McDaniel (@MikMcDaniel) January 9, 2024
Furthermore, Rodgers doubled down on his criticism of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, refusing to offer any apologies.
He expressed his lack of concern for Kimmel’s opinions about him and took a jab at the host’s education and joke-writing team.
In response to Kimmel’s upset over the Epstein-related comment, Rodgers defended himself, saying, “I’m not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero concrete evidence. That’s ridiculous.”
Pat McAfee officially announced on Wednesday that Aaron Rodgers will not be making a return for the rest of the NFL season. This decision stems from Rodgers’ involvement in controversy, particularly for making what McAfee described as “ugly remarks about Jimmy Kimmel and conspiracy theories.”
