Controversial New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is under fire after coining a nickname for Kansas City Chiefs tight end (and, of course, Taylor Swift boyfriend) Travis Kelce that sounds straight out of one of Donald Trump's embarrassing speeches.
During an appearance on ESPN's "Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers mocked Kelce for promoting COVID-19 vaccines.
While answering a question about how the Jets played against the Chiefs on Sunday by calling Kelce "Mr. Pfizer." Sick burn, Aaron.
Aaron Rodgers has a new nickname for Travis Kelce: \u201cMr. Pfizer\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1696362593
Rodgers told hosts Pat McAfee and AJ Hawk:
“Mr. Pfizer, we kinda shut him down a little bit. He didn’t have his crazy impact game, obviously, he didn’t have his yards and stuff.”
The dig was in reference to a recent commercial Kelce made for Pfizer in which he urges fans to get vaccinated against Covid and the seasonal flu.
Rodgers, of course, is somewhat infamous for his anti-vax stance, especially following an August 2021 scandal in which he lied about having been vaccinated before attending practices with the Green Bay Packers, the team for which he played at the time.
Rodgers tested positive for Covid that month and subsequently missed the Packers' first pre-season game against the Chiefs that year.
He's also been vocal about his support of the livestock de-wormer Ivermectin as a treatment for Covid, which has never been approved for treating the disease or been found to be effective. But that, of course, is of little interest to most of the anti-vax movement.
On social media, Rodgers unimaginative middle school taunt didn't land very well with a lot of people.
Aaron Rodgers just had the nerve to call Travis Kelce Mr. Pfizer.\n\nBro, Kelce has twice as many rings as you and he's actually playing this year. Maybe you should have gotten vaccinated.— I Smoked Lauren Boebert's Tiddies At The Theater (@I Smoked Lauren Boebert's Tiddies At The Theater) 1696360853
aaron rodgers just called travis kelce 'mr pfizer' and i'm more glad than ever i blew out his achilles— God (@God) 1696363933
Aaron Rodgers after calling Travis Kelce \u201cMr. Pfizer\u201d— B.W. Carlin (@B.W. Carlin) 1696361134
@barstoolsports This ain\u2019t gonna end well for Rodgers— Smarpy (@Smarpy) 1696362906
@thedailybeast I thought Rodgers was against masks?— gft77 \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a (@gft77 \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a) 1696403426
Aaron Rodgers calling Travis Kelce "Mr. Pfizer" as though he's not happily taking tens of millions from Mr. Johnson and Johnson is pretty rich.— Tycho Magnetic Anomaly-1 (@Tycho Magnetic Anomaly-1) 1696357470
I wonder how many preventable deaths occurred because of Aaron Rodgers, and how many deaths will be prevented because of \u201cMr. Pfizer.\u201d It\u2019s certainly not zero— Michigan Truther (@Michigan Truther) 1696371033
Aaron Rodgers calling Kelce "Mr. Pfizer" while cashing checks from *checks notes, the Johnson and Johnson coffers is hilarious. Bro, let people do what they want. I'm all for freedom, but anti-vaxers are annoying. Should anyone be mandated to take it? No. But that's their choice.— Matt (@Matt) 1696359824
@barstoolsports Rodgers new nickname is Mr. Pharma since his Jets salary is paid for by Johnson & Johnson— MurphysLaw74 (Jimmy Murphy) (@MurphysLaw74 (Jimmy Murphy)) 1696419482
Right-wing pundits and commentators have been waging an all out anti-Kelce media campaign following his appearance in the Pfizer ad. And given how lazy and dumb the nickname "Mr. Pfizer" is, you can't help but wonder if that's who Rodgers is taking his cues from, maybe even in the literal sense.
But then, maybe it's just as simple as football fans loving lame seventh-grade taunts. Who knows? In any case, Rodgers blew his Achilles in the first game of the Jets' season so it seems snark is his game for the time being—while collecting his salary from the Jets' owners, the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, of course.
The Bulwark
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