Like many, Dan Le Batard was eagerly anticipating Jimmy Kimmel’s response to Aaron Rodgers implying that the ABC late-night host was on Jeffrey Epstein’s list of associates.
But once he saw Kimmel’s seven-minute monologue addressing “Karen” Rodgers (get it?), the Meadowlark Media co-founder was left underwhelmed.
“You’ve got seven minutes with 10 writers and you’ve got days to do it. It’s gotta be not educating-shaming. It’s gotta be banger after banger,” Le Batard said on Tuesday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “You’ve got a team of writers, you’re at the top of Disney. You’re now fighting with someone who’s paid like you — not Aaron Rodgers, he’s paid better than you — Pat McAfee. You’re fighting in-house. That’s gotta be killer. Or does it have to be vetted by lawyers and then it can’t be killer?”
"You've got 7 minutes with 10 writers and you've got days to do it. It's gotta be not education shaming. It's gotta be banger after banger…I wanted that to be funny. I was rooting for that to be funny." – Dan on Jimmy Kimmel's monologue last night about Aaron Rodgers.
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) January 9, 2024
To Le Batard’s point, Kimmel’s monologue regarding Rodgers wasn’t much of a roast, so much as it was a thorough explanation of why it’s wrong to falsely imply that someone might be pedophile. Even Kimmel’s biggest digs at Rodgers — which as Le Batard alluded to, were based on the quarterback’s education — were rooted in explaining why he wasn’t qualified to to act as an authority on government matters.
In Kimmel’s defense, it was a tough spot, as he clearly wanted to respond to Rodgers while also expressing how seriously he was taking the situation. The former co-host of The Man Show also genuinely seems like he wants to move past the controversy, as evidenced by him ending his monologue by stating that he would accept an apology from the four-time MVP (although he also expressed skepticism that one would be coming).
Jimmy’s thoughts on quarterback Karen Rodgers… pic.twitter.com/mRh5VRUycz
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) January 9, 2024
While Kimmel is obviously entitled to handle the matter however he sees fit, Le Batard likely isn’t alone in feeling like the monologue missed the mark. So much so that the former Miami Herald columnist said that he opted against airing clips from it on his own show “because I didn’t think it was funny and I thought it was boring.”
“I wanted that to be funny,” Le Batard said. “I was rooting for that to be funny.”
Rodgers addressed the fallout on his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and defended his original comments before ranting once again about COVID conspiracies and cancel culture for another 30 minutes.
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
