Jimmy Kimmel has hit back at Aaron Rodgers and threatened legal action after the NFL quarterback appeared to suggest on a podcast that the late-night television host’s name would be included in court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Jets quarterback made the comments on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday saying, “There’s a lot of people including Jimmy Kimmel who’s really hoping that doesn’t come out.”
Rodgers was referencing yet-to-be unsealed court documents in the Epstein case — including the identities of more than 150 people. Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 in federal jail in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
“I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I’ll definitely be popping some sort of bottle,” Rodgers said on the show.
Kimmel lashed back Tuesday tweeting: “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 words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court,” the TV host added.
NBC News has reached out to Rodgers and Kimmel for comment.
Those court documents may not meet the high expectations they’ve garnered online. The Epstein case has spawned a myriad of conspiracy theories about the possible involvement of the rich and powerful in sex trafficking.
However, the names to be disclosed include victims and Epstein employees. Some names come up just once when someone is asked whether they know that person, according to the judge on the case. A number of the names are associated with behavior that is “not salacious,” the judge said.
A federal judge who in December ordered the documents to be released said that most of the names were already public, some by other public filings or by testimony during the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice.
She is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
