State Farm: Rodgers Has Been a 'Great Ambassador'

State Farm is standing by Aaron Rodgers, with its words if not its actions. A company spokeswoman told USA Today Monday that the Green Bay Packers quarterback has been "a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade," and while State Farm doesn't support some of what he has said, "we respect his right to have his own personal point of view." Rodgers, a COVID vaccine skeptic who said he was "immunized" after taking ivermectin and other drugs recommended by Joe Rogan, claimed Friday that scientists "don't know a lot" about the vaccines. "We encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances," the State Farm spokeswoman said.

Rodgers' State Farm ads, however, have been vanishing from TV, CNN reports. According to Apex Marketing, the quarterback appeared in just 1.5% of the approximately 400 State Farm ads on TV Sunday, compared to around 25% on the previous two Sundays. Apex president Eric Smallwood that this apparently wasn't a "planned reduction" because there were no "significant new ads" to replaces the Rodgers ones. Another sponsor, Prevea Health, has cut its ties with the quarterback. With Rodgers sidelined after testing positive, the Packers lost 13-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday.

Rodgers complained over the weekend that he is now in the " crosshairs of the woke mob." He was definitely in the crosshairs of Saturday Night Live. Pete Davidson played Rodgers in a skit in which he spoke to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, played by Cecily Strong. " It’s my body and my COVID," Davidson-as-Rogers said, per the New York Daily News. "I can give it to whoever I want. But suddenly the woke mob is after me. It’s so bad that State Farm called and they're not even giving me the Rodgers rate!" (More Aaron Rodgers stories.)