Pat McAfee seemingly addressed the backlash he has faced after an Ole Miss college student accused him of “ruining” her life by spreading an unfounded cheating rumor.
During his “Big Night Aht” show in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, April 9, McAfee, 37, did not mention student Mary Kate Cornett by name — who he previously suggested slept with her boyfriend’s father on a February episode of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show — but he did reference his “current situation.”
“I have a lot of people saying that I should be sued,” McAfee said. “I want to say this: I never, ever want to be a part of anything negative in anybody’s life, ever. That is not what I want to do.”
McAfee, who is originally from the Pittsburgh area, said “you f***ing know it that my lawyers are Pittsburgh lawyers and they’re in here tonight.”
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“They have a suite here that I have certainly contributed to,” McAfee added. “They have the same mindset as me, empathy but understanding reality. For that whole thing that’s happening, I didn’t want to add any more negativity as it was taking place.”
He concluded, “We will try to figure that out and make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation. You can have that promise from me. It won’t be as impossible to be a fan of mine going forward.”
In February, McAfee discussed a viral story about Cornett, who is a freshman at Ole Miss, allegedly sleeping with her boyfriend’s dad. The story caught fire after McAfee mentioned it on his talk show, which Cornett addressed earlier this month.
“I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done,” Cornett told The Athletic. “You’re ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention, but here I am staying up until 5 in the morning, every night, throwing up, not eating because I’m so anxious about what’s going to happen for the rest of my life.”
Cornett said she started receiving vile messages after her phone number was leaked online. Cornett’s mother also was the victim of a swatting incident as Houston PD arrived at her home with guns drawn.
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In a social media post, Cornett called the cheating accusations “false,” “inexcusable” and “disturbing.”
The student’s father, Justin, said the scandal had greatly impacted the entire family.
“The only way I could describe it is it’s like you’re walking with your daughter on the street, holding her hand, and a car mirror snags her shirt and starts dragging her down the road,” he told The Athletic. “And all you can do is watch. “You can’t catch the car. You can’t stop it from happening. You just have to sit there and watch your kid be destroyed.”
Cornett and her family obtained legal representation and said they intend to take legal action against McAfee and ESPN.
