We can add another media outlet to the growing list of places Aaron Rodgers isn’t a fan of: TMZ.
Rodgers has long made it clear he’s not a fan of the media. On Tuesdays during the NFL season, he often vents on The Pat McAfee Show about how toxic the NFL media landscape has become, and boasts about telling the Adam Schefters of the world to lose his number.
But for a guy who says he plans to disappear into the abyss once his playing days are done, Rodgers sure does seem to enjoy seeing his name in the headlines. Unless, of course, TMZ is the one sharing his every move.
And we get it. Rodgers enjoys the perks and the spotlight that come with being a public figure. What he doesn’t love is the invasive side of it, especially from TMZ, who’ve snapped or gotten their hands on photos of him chilling on the beach with his wired — not Bluetooth — headphones and hanging out with his rapper friend Mike Stud (aka Mike.).
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Rodgers has been spotted with Mike. before, whether at his concerts alongside Marcus Stroman or at New York Yankees games. Mike., whose real name is Michael Seander, is a former college baseball player and was Stroman’s teammate at Duke. Rodgers and Mike. are apparently close friends; Rodgers was at his Los Angeles show on June 28.
During the performance of his song “These Days,” Mike. shouted out Rodgers while rapping the line, “Walking out the club with me and TMZ is out here.” Rodgers, standing off to the side, responded with a middle finger salute aimed right at TMZ.
@mattmperez Pat McAfee > TMZ @Pat McAfee Show Clips @Mike #fyp #aaronrodgers #patmcafee #mike #mikeconcert #ynk #steelers #yinzertok #yinz #yinzer ♬ original sound – Matt
Seander has a habit of shouting “F*ck TMZ” at his shows. Last week, he shared a clip of Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show complaining about paparazzi snapping photos of the two of them playing with Rodgers’ puppy, Apollo, at a Los Angeles beach. When Rodgers noticed the paparazzi, he made sure to flip them off, though no photo of that moment has surfaced.
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Mike. hates TMZ, and so does Rodgers. Especially as the outlet digs deeper into the latter’s recent marriage.
It’s a classic case of wanting the spotlight, but only on his own terms. That’s why, despite all the attention, fame, and headlines he seems to crave, Rodgers hates TMZ. He hates losing control of his story. He hates the spotlight shining where he doesn’t want it to.
And TMZ is the perfect example of everything he loathes about the media.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.