From lawsuit threat to hanging out: Pat McAfee spotted with Ole Miss student from viral rumor scandal
The ESPN host was seen talking with the Ole Miss student more than a year after publicly apologizing to her family
P at McAfee ’s latest visit to Ole Miss carried an uncomfortable piece of history with it, and Saturday brought an unexpected image that quickly caught attention online.
The ESPN personality was photographed talking with Mary Kate Cornett on the sideline at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium before Ole Miss ’ game against LSU , more than a year after his show discussed a false sexual rumor about her that later became the subject of public apologies and threatened legal action.
McAfee was in Oxford for College GameDay, while Cornett had also attended the game with friends. Video showed the two standing near one another before kickoff, and a fan later posted a photo of them talking. The scene was notable because of what happened in 2025.
Cornett , then an Ole Miss student, became the target of an anonymous online rumor falsely alleging that she had been involved in a sexual relationship with her boyfriend’s father. The claim spread rapidly across social media before being picked up by prominent sports personalities, including McAfee .
McAfee later acknowledged damage caused
Cornett and her family strongly criticized McAfee after he discussed the rumor on-air without first contacting them or establishing whether it was true. Cornett later described the impact of the amplification in stark terms.
“They don’t think it matters, because they don’t know who I am and they think that I deserve it,” she said. “But I don’t. You’re ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention.”
Months later, McAfee issued a direct apology after meeting Cornett and her family privately.
“I have since learned that the story was not true, and that my show played a role in the anguish caused to a great family and especially to a young woman, Mary Kate Cornett,” McAfee said.
He also admitted that his program “had no personal knowledge about Mary Kate or her personal life.”
Cornett ordeal extended beyond social media
Cornett said the attention affected her daily life, with strangers harassing her and personal information circulating online.
“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,” she said.
Her family also said manipulated photographs and AI-generated material were circulated alongside the false allegation. Cornett ’s attorney later said the dispute with McAfee had been resolved satisfactorily after his apology and meeting with the family.
That makes Saturday’s sideline encounter more significant than an ordinary celebrity photo.
After a controversy that once placed McAfee and Cornett on opposite sides of a potential legal dispute, the pair were seen speaking casually at the same stadium where the fallout had once become a major story.
