Shailene Woodley is blasting the media for attempting to "disparage" her fiancé, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, amid his ongoing COVID-19 recovery.
Rodgers, 37, came under fire Friday after he confirmed he was unvaccinated against COVID-19 just two days after his team revealed he'd tested positive for the virus.
The three-time MVP pick, who previously made comments that suggested he had been vaccinated, addressed his vaccination status during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on SiriusXM.
Rodgers said he opted not to get vaccinated because of an allergy to an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, and refused the Johnson & Johnson virus because of possible adverse effects. He instead received monoclonal antibodies and took ivermectin, a drug commonly used to deworm animals, which is not approved to treat COVID-19 by the FDA.
Since Friday, the athlete has been the subject of an inordinate number of media stories. He's also lost an endorsement deal with the health care company Prevea Health and received criticism from fellow athletes, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, who announced on “Fox NFL Sunday” last weekend that Rodgers "lied to everyone."
On Tuesday, Woodley, 29, called out a tabloid news report that claimed that Rodgers, who is currently under a NFL-mandated 10-day quarantine, went for a coffee run in Los Angeles following his COVID-19 diagnosis. The report included images of a man the publication identified as Rodgers, who was seen holding a coffee cup while wearing a black face mask.
The "Big Little Lies" star posted the photos from the story in her Instagram stories, writing, "Literally ya'll need to calm the f--- down. This is straight up HILARIOUS. News outlets STILL grasping at straws to disparage Aaron. Finding random f------ men on the streets of LA and saying it's him."
She then listed discrepancies between Rodgers' physique and that of the man in the images.
"I know Aaron's body VERY well. First off, his feet, ahem and no offense to this rando dude, are a LOT bigger," she continued. "Also, for those of us who know Aaron beyond the worlds of obsessed sport and s----- media, it's no secret he has the hairiest hands on the f------ planet. This oblivious homie, clearly, does not (go ahead, zoom in)."
The actor also said the man's car, while "cute," is one Rodgers "would never drive."
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Woodley previously addressed the media coverage around Rodgers' COVID-19 vaccination status over the weekend on Instagram, when she slammed media stories that reported she deleted some of her Instagram content "amid the 'chaos'."
“literally lol’ing over here at your determination to make a story out of nothing,” she wrote. “grasping at straws my dears …”
Meanwhile, also on Tuesday, Rodgers talked to the "The Pat McAfee Show" again and took "full responsibility" for confusing others with his statements about his vaccine status.
"I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading and to anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments," said the athlete.
He also said he was recovering from COVID-19 and eager to get back on the field — possibly as soon as Sunday when the Packers play the Seattle Seahawks.
"I’m excited about feeling better, I'm excited about moving forward and hopefully getting back with my team and getting back to doing what I do best and that's playing ball," he said.
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