Jimmy Kimmel denies meeting Jeffrey Epstein, says reckless words put my family in danger

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday hit out at Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the US Football Team New York Jets, after the latter suggested Kimmel’s name would appear on the court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Dozens of previously sealed court documents related to Epstein were made public late Wednesday, as a court released more records from a years-old lawsuit connected to the late financier. Ahead of the document’s release, misinformation about their contents ran rampant on social media, with some wrongly claiming Kimmel’s name might appear.

The reports were spurred by a joke Rodgers made Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show”.

“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,” Kimmel wrote on X.

“Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court,” Kimmel said, as he reposted a video of the chat show.

During the chat show, Rodgers had said, “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn’t come out. I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.”

The first 40 documents, of around 250 expected to eventually be unsealed, largely mention figures whose names were already known, including former US President Bill Clinton and high-profile friends of Epstein’s and victims who have spoken publicly.

WHO WAS JEFFREY EPSTEIN?

A millionaire known for associating with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and academic stars, Epstein was initially arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2005 after he was accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Dozens of other underage girls described similar sexual abuse, but prosecutors ultimately allowed the financier to plead guilty in 2008 to a charge involving a single victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.

Some famous acquaintances abandoned Epstein after his conviction, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, but many did not. Epstein continued to mingle with the rich and famous for another decade, often through philanthropic work.

Reporting by the Miami Herald renewed interest in the scandal, and federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking. He killed himself in jail while awaiting trial.

The US attorney in Manhattan then prosecuted Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison term.