- McAfee recently appeared to reference racist comments on another show
- He said on Monday’s show that the incident was almost MLK’s “dream” come true
- READ MORE: Aaron Rodgers says McAfee pulled him from show due to backlash
Pat McAfee marked Martin Luther King Day on Monday by claiming he has been canceled by both major US political parties and making a bizarre statement about the civil rights hero’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.
“It’s obviously Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He had a dream,” McAfee told his ESPN audience on Monday, in a clumsy attempt to speak as the civil rights icon.
McAfee then referenced one of his recent controversies, which took place on ESPN’s College GameDay prior to the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Rece Davis, a regular host, explained the meaning behind an anagram, LANK, which stands for “Let a Naysayer Know.” Confused, McAfee said at the time that he thought the “N” stood for a different word: “That’s not what I thought… Boy. You almost lost me.’
The debate over whether McAfee was talking about racist comments quickly died down, until Monday, when the controversial talk show host made a bizarre claim linking the incident to King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Pat McAfee marked Martin Luther King Day on Monday with a number of bizarre claims
“He had a dream and I think LANK was one of the people who came closest to possibly realizing that dream,” McAfee told his panel of co-hosts.
“So let’s realize that as we look around and realize that we may be closer than ever before,” he continued.
‘And there are elections about to happen next year where we have to remember that we are closer together than ever before… now as someone who was canceled by both parties last week, they both canceled me ‘ says McAfee. said. ‘Two political parties canceled me last week and we are still alive. Let’s not forget that we don’t need the outside noise. All we need is a little love.”
McAfee says MLK’s dream almost came true
The alleged cancellations McAfee has faced from both Republicans and Democrats appear to be a reference to Aaron Rodgers’ recent appearances on his show.
The controversy began earlier this month, when the New York Jets quarterback recklessly suggested to McAfee that comedian Jimmy Kimmel “hopes that list doesn’t come true.”
The list Rodgers was referring to is a 2015 civil defamation lawsuit filed against the late millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
The statement was publicly revealed for the first time this month and includes the names of many alleged Epstein clients, who are accused of having sexual intercourse with underage girls. Kimmel was not named in the statement, he has maintained his innocence and there are no credible allegations against him.
But despite his clear suggestion to the contrary, Rodgers denied the link between Kimmel and Epstein, telling McAfee on Tuesday that he is being canceled by the mainstream media: “This is the media’s game plan, and this is what they do.” They’re trying to cancel, you know? And it’s not just me.’
Things reached a boiling point days later, when McAfee launched a furious on-air attack against some ESPN executives, implying that a “rat” within the network was trying to “sabotage” his show. The fiery host railed against “the enemy in our own camp” as he spotlighted longtime director Norby Williamson.
McAfee accused the ‘Executive Editor & Head of Event and Studio Production’ of leaking false ratings to an unnamed reporter in an attempt to take down the show. He has since doubled down on these claims as well.
As for the claim that it was canceled, McAfee licenses his daily talk show to ESPN and its millions of viewers, so that’s a bit of a stretch.
“I don’t think you can say you got canceled while talking on a Disney broadcast,” one fan joked on X.
“McAfee makes me wish cancel culture actually existed,” SB Nation’s Jeanna Kelley commented.