Aaron Rodgers Blames the Hatred Being Directed at Him on Media Generated Covid ‘Fear Porn’
As soon as Aaron Rodgers‘ 17th NFL season came to an abrupt halt Saturday night, critics of the polarizing quarterback were ready to pounce with insults of “Throw Rogan” and “QAaron.”
“There were a ton of people tuning in rooting against us for one reason and one reason only,” Rodgers said Tuesday afternoon on The Pat McAfee Show. “And it’s because of my vaccination status and them wanting us to lose so they could pile on and revel in the fact that my vaccination status was some sort of reason why we haven’t had success in the playoffs.”
But Rodgers told Pat McAfee that he has empathy for his detractors because according to the Green Bay Packers quarterback, the hatred being directed at him stems from media-generated Covid fear porn.
“There’s so much fear around this,” Rodgers said. “And the media plays a big role in that. The fear porn that is put day after day causes a lot of strife and stress for people. Because I don’t watch the news or don’t subscribe to the same type of mainstream narrative…there’s anger thrown my way.”
In addition to not subscribing to mainstream narratives, Rodgers touted taking responsibility for his own health by doing “my research” and associating with people who align similarly, such as Joe Rogan.
“But the root of that I think is fear, so I do have empathy for those people who are caught in this fear state around Covid that is continued to be pushed and furthered by media and I do have empathy for that,” Rodgers added.
While Rodgers sparked national outrage during his appearances with McAfee throughout the NFL season, the quarterback’s interview with ESPN was the latest fuel he provided for his critics. After slamming President Joe Biden for calling Covid the “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Rodgers’ haters were chomping at the bit to mock him for getting knocked out of the playoffs.
“I don’t believe that hatred and fear and name-calling is gonna get us out of this pandemic,” Rodgers told McAfee. “It’s gonna be love and connection and actual conversation and debate and information sharing. And not information sharing that’s being fact-checked by the same individuals running the pharmaceutical industry.”
Watch above via The Pat McAfee Show.
