Pat McAfee is facing potential legal action over comments he made on “The Pat McAfee Show” that amplified a false rumor about Ole Miss freshman Mary Kate Cornett.
The rumor, based on faked screenshots and AI-generated videos, alleged that Cornett cheated on her boyfriend with his father. Although McAfee did not name her directly, his jokes about the situation on February 26th contributed to its widespread circulation, along with figures like Antonio Brown and Barstool Sports personalities. The viral nature of the rumor led to severe harassment, threats, and even a swatting incident targeting Cornett’s mother.
The segment on “The Pat McAfee Show” lasted two minutes and saw McAfee say, “Some Ole Miss frat bro, ‘kay? Had a K-D [Kappa Delta] girlfriend… At this exact moment, this is what is being reported by … everybody on the internet: Dad had sex with son’s girlfriend.” While ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter tried to shift the conversation away, they continued to talk about it and McAfee joked about “shoehorning” college fathers into their combine analysis. One of the other hosts joked, “Ole Miss dads are slinging meat right now.”
Cornett, her boyfriend and family have all denounced the rumor and her father has said that he has enlisted a private investigator to investigate the cyberattack, which he called “defamatory.” Meanwhile, Cornett has obtained legal representation and said she intends to take action against McAfee and ESPN, as well as possibly others who helped spread the rumor. She told The Athletic the following:
“I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done. 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’s attorney also says that the team may take action against those who may have promoted the rumor to try and profit via cryptocurrency; a memecoin in Cornett’s name was created on February 25th and spiked in value on February 26th. The lawyer stated, “They elevated a lie from the worst corners of (X) to millions of general sports fans just to get a few more clicks and ultimately a few more dollars. While they don’t have to deal with it after it airs, the lie is chained to Mary Kate for the rest of her life.”
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