“Literally, ya’ll need to calm the f-ck down,” Shailene Woodley posted to her Instagram Story on Tuesday (Nov. 9). Shailene, 29, shared a screenshot of a report claiming that Aaron Rodgers was out and about in Brentwood, California, after his COVID-19 diagnosis. “This is straight up HILARIOUS,” the actress wrote. “News outlets STILL grasping at straws to disparage Aaron. Finding random f-cking men on the streets of LA and saying it’s him.” Shailene disputed that the photos were of Aaron, 37, saying she knows “Aaron’s body VERY well.”
The Divergent star argued that the photographed man’s feet were too small (“[Aaron’s] feet, ahem and no offense to this rando dude, are a LOT bigger”) and that Aaron is much hairier. “Also, for those of us who know Aaron beyond the worlds of the obsessed sport and sh-tty media, it’s no secret he has the hairiest hands on the f-cking planet. This oblivious homie, clearly, does not,” wrote Shailene. She also said that her husband-to-be would “never drive” such a car.
The comment comes after Shailene responded to the media over the weekend. “Just read somewhere that the media is claiming I deleted an insta story amid the ‘chaos.’ (an astrology post of all things) (not cryptic at all you dummies). Do you even know how stories work brah?? They self delete after 24 hrs. Literally lol’ing over here at your determination to make a story out of nothing. Grasping at straws, my dears,” she wrote, per People.
Aaron became the center of controversy last week when he tested positive for COVID-19. In late August, the Green Bay Packers quarterback spoke with reporters about his vaccination status. “Yeah, I’ve been immunized,” he said, per Sports Illustrated. In light of the positive diagnosis, Aaron faced a backlash from fans, reporters, and fellow sports stars. Kareen Abul-Jabbar said that Aaron Rodgers was an “egregious abuser” of his position and responsibility and that he “directly and deliberately lied to fans and the public when he assured everyone he was ‘immunized,’ knowing that word would be interpreted as his being vaccinated.” Terry Bradshaw also said he was “disappointed” in Rodgers. “Aaron, you lied to everyone,” he said.
Aaron explained his decision on The Pat McAfee Show. After complaining about being “in the crosshairs of the woke mob,” Aaron said that his decision came from “a lot of study in the offseason. … I consulted a good friend of mine, Joe Rogan, and I’ve been doing a lot of the stuff he recommended in his podcast.” Aaron eventually said that he is allergic to an ingredient in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. He opted against getting the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine amid news of it causing blood clotting in some individuals.
Though the pause on administering it was lifted and deemed safe for the public, Aaron refused to get the shot because he wants to be a father, and claimed there were “zero long-term studies” on the effects on male fertility. The CDC says there is no link to male infertility issues based on current vaccination data.