In early 2024, football quarterback Aaron Rodgers made headlines when he falsely suggested that Kimmel's name would appear in court documents associated with Epstein. Kimmel threatened legal action against Rodgers at the time.

The response was a reference to a birthday message Trump allegedly wrote in 2003 to his then-friend Jeffrey Epstein, who would be convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and later died in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes,' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.