Aziz Ansari Addresses Nicki Minaj and Aaron Rodgers’ Controversial Vaccine Comments

Both Nicki Minaj and Aaron Rodgers get mentions in Aziz Ansari’s latest standup special for Netflix, with the comedian and Master of None co-creator saying they’re both “trapped in a different algorithm” when it comes to their widely criticized public comments on vaccines.

In a clip from the Nightclub Comedian special, which hit the streaming platform on Tuesday, Ansari mentions anti-vaxxers generally, then specifically asks the crowd for their thoughts on Rodgers, who last year made NFL-focused headlines after confirming that he was not vaccinated.

“People hate that guy. … It’s like, alright, calm down. He’s a football player,” Ansari said. “He read some articles. He got skeptical. He did some research. Are you stunned he came to the wrong conclusion? Did you really think he was gonna crack the case? Did you think Fauci was gonna be out there like, ‘I just got off the phone with Aaron Rodgers?’ This poor guy. It’s like we’re all in high school and we’re making fun of the quarterback for doing bad on the science test.”

From there, Ansari pointed out that the world of football, by default, is one rife with traumatic head injuries. “This guy makes a living getting hit in the head,” he said. “Can we cut him a break?” Ansari also joked that Rodgers got “some powders from Jamba Juice” to use as COVID-19 treatment, adding that he was “arrogant” in the interviews he gave regarding his vaccine status.

Minaj, whose swiftly and easily debunked swollen testicles claim dominated the news cycle for far too long last year, was then mentioned by Ansari as he went into his larger assessment of what he defines as dueling algorithmic existences. 

“I don’t think [Rodgers is] an idiot though, okay?” Ansari said. “I don’t think him, Nicki Minaj, any of these people are idiots. I’m not here to say that, okay? I just think they’re trapped in a different algorithm than you are. You know what I mean by that? And if you’re calling them idiots and stuff, you’re trapped in another algorithm. I know everything you’re gonna say about everything.”

After an aside about the earlier-in-the-pandemic hot topic ivermectin, Ansari continued.

“We’re all kinda just trapped in our own little world,” he said, as seen in the clip above. “Unless we figure out how to talk to each other in real life again, it doesn’t even matter what the problem is. I don’t know what the answer is. Maybe click on some of the stuff they click on for a few days, see what’s going on. Don’t go too hard though. End of the week, you’ll be out there like, ‘Fauci’s a pedophile!’”

Nightclub Comedian is out now, as are (and as have been for quite some time now) safe and free COVID-19 vaccines.