LOS ANGELES.–Going off on 39-year-old future Hall-of-Fame New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 56-year-old late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel showed his thin skin, after Rodgers said on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show” that who knows whether Kimmel would show up on a list of people named who associated with the late perverted New York socialite Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, a college dropout, somehow amassed a $560 million fortune, serving as a financial manager to billionaires and heads of state. Pulling off that feat shows Epstein was a prodigious con artist, with obviously some investment savvy to run around in with the rich-and-famous, making friends over the years with a veritable who’s who in New York high society and foreign leaders. Like former President Donald Trump, who knew Epstein well, Epstein flew on his own private jet, buying two islands, 72-acre Little James and 160-acre Great St. James, in the Caribbean, two miles from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Epstein apparently used his 15,000 square foot mansion on Little James to host guests apparently serving his fetish for young girls, along with many other guests only recently released by a judge while in a trial of one of his many sex abuse victims. Rodgers made a joke Jan. 3 on McAfee’s show about Jimmy Kimmel possibly showing up on Epstein’s list that looked like a veritable who’s who in the celebrity jet-set crowd. “Of course my name wasn’t on it, and isn’t on it and won’t ever be on it,” Kimmel told his Monday night audience in an angry tirade about Rodgers. “I don’t know Jeffrey Epstein, I’ve never met Jeffrey Epstein. I’m not on a list. I was not on a plane or an island or anything ever,” Kimmel said last night. Why Kimmel reacted so harshly is anyone’s guess. Rodgers never said Kimmel was on any list compiled by victims and attorney litigating cases against the late financier who committed suicide Aug. 10, 2019 in NY’s Metropolitan Correction Center.
Epstein’s estate is subject to a flurry of lawsuits by women claiming to have been abused by Epstein and his 62-year-old imprisoned accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was charged, convicted and sentence June 28, 2022 of sex trafficking to feed Epstein’s pedophile habit. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of sex trafficking and abuse of underage minors, receiving some rehab and probation. When he was arrested again July 6, 2019, he knew he would be convicted, spending years in prison, before he killed himself awaiting trial Aug. 10, 2019. Epstein apparently held sex orgies at his Palm Beach estate and Caribbean Island retreat for years before his bi-polar world eventually crashed down on him. Kimmel resented in the strong possible way Rodgers making a joke about him on the Pat McAfee show. Why Kimmel so strongly reacted to Rodgers is anyone’s guess but probably relates to Kimmel’s hatred of former President Donald Trump.
Rodgers was a Trump supporter, something so politically incorrect it would automatically compromise his sports career, especially knowing how the U.S. press treats Trump. Kimmel has led the anti-Trump assault against the former president on his ABC late-night show, making Trump virtually a key part of his monologue since Trump ran for president in 2016. Kimmel, like other late-night talk show hosts, found attacks on Trump was good for the ratings, leading late-night shows with the most vehement attacks on Trump. Trump often would insult Kimmel, saying he would snivel to get him on his show while Trump hosted NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” for years. So when Trump won the presidency in 2016, Kimmel became the leading entertainment industry anti-Trump voice, featuring nightly attacks on Trump for whatever reason. Rodgers was well-aware of Kimmel’s hatred of Trump, using the former president to boost his ratings with his liberal audience.
So, when it comes to Rodger’s joke about Kimmel, the 56-year-old has no sense of humor when it comes to himself, using his ABC show as the leading disparaging voice against Trump’s 2024 campaign and legal problems. Trump has been tried-and-convicted on Kimmel’s show, much like CNN, since he was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith Aug. 1, 2023. Yet Rodgers makes a veiled joke about Kimmel appearing on an Epstein list and Kimmel is ready to go to court. Kimmel has made many unfounded, defamatory comments about Trump for the last nine years but one inconsequential remark by Rodgers causes Kimmel to go ballistic. Kimmel insulted Rodgers for a having a “very high opinion of himself,” criticizing Rodgers for his views on UFOs and Covid-19 vaccines. Rodgers tried out to host ABC’s Jeopardy last year, receiving high praise by the audience while ABC figured out how to replace the late Alex Trebek.
Kimmel’s attacks on Rodgers have morphed into the same hatred he has for Trump, exposing an irrational side to the late-night host. “Aaron Rodgers is too arrogant to know how ignorant his is,” Kimmel said, showing that there’s more to Kimmel’s attacks than meets the eye. Kimmel’s reputation was not besmirched by Rodgers by making a joke on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show. Kimmel demanded that Rodgers apologize for daring to suggest that Kimmel might turn up on some Epstein list. “My guess is he won’t apologize. I hope I’m wrong,” Kimmel said, showing his latest obsession with Rodgers. After spending years attacking Trump without getting hit back, Kimmel showed his fragile side, not because he’s guilty because he’s egotistic and thin-skinned. Whether admitted to or not, Kimmel is jealous of Aaron Rodgers good looks, intelligence and for being a finalist for Jeopardy, but, more importantly, named for having a possible career in late-night TV.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
