"He's shilling for a corrupt company": Aaron Rodgers escalates vax wars with 'Mr Pfizer' Travis Kelce
Aaron Rodgers is back in the center of COVID-19 controversy once again thanks to his jab at Travis Kelce. The star tight end did an ad campaign for Pfizer promoting the COVID-19 vaccine that many credit for helping with the pandemic and potentially saving lives.
Rodgers, suffice it to say, is not a fan. Naturally, his latest comments upset many people, something he's relatively unbothered by. In fact, he doubled down on his takes, saying:
"That's fascinating. It was incredible people getting triggered last week. But the Johnsons have been great to me. So I don't mind if you call me Mr. Johnson and Johnson, Woody and Christopher and their families, they've been great."
He continued, calling out the company that hired Kelce:
"I don't play for the Johnson and Johnson Corporation. I play for the New York Jets. So I mean, I made a tiny little joke about a guy shilling for a you know potentially, well not potentially, corrupt company, and everybody loses their mind."
Kelce, on the other hand, had a very mild response. He likened the joke to a simple mention of the fact that Rodgers is connected to Johnson & Johnson, a company that also put out one of the three main COVID vaccines.
Pfizer also had fun with it, teasing that they'd release number 87 jerseys with "Mr. Pfizer" in the nameplate. Rodgers, on the Pat McAfee Show where he often shows up and speaks to the world, was apparently not having any of it.
For what it's worth, the Pat McAfee Show hosts and Rodgers didn't expound on the "corrupt" comment. McAfee immediately diverted to a different question and Rodgers didn't explain himself on that front.
Aaron Rodgers displeased with Travis Kelce's Pfizer advert
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce appeared in an ad for Pfizer, asking people to continue taking the vaccine so that the pandemic does not return in any form. Aaron Rodgers, who is currently on IR for the New York Jets, is notably anti-vaccine.
He's supported anti-vax presidential candidate Robert Kennedy and he notoriously misled the media on his own vaccination status, claiming to be "immunized" and following vaccinated protocols when he was not.
The Jets quarterback also challenged Kelce to a debate on vaccines, suggesting that the Chiefs tight end bring along Anthony Fauci - former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - alongside him, with Rodgers choosing 2024 presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr. as his debate partner.