Throughout her career and beyond, Danica Patrick has been an outspoken personality. From letting Denny Hamlin have a piece of her mind at the 2015 Daytona Duel race to setting up a fitness empire that uplifts women, Patrick’s public image has been bold. So the former motorsports athlete did not hesitate to share her personal opinions about a recent string of controversial events.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist, has sent heavy ripples across American forums. There has been a clash of opinions among people and influencers, and Jimmy Kimmel was among them. And Danica Patrick ensured that she was on the other side of Kimmel’s.
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Danica Patrick gets vocal about Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel is best known as the host and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Kimmel has also hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times and the Academy Awards four times. However, the television host and comedian entered a rickety realm of controversy following his latest episode. He issued comments on the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s death, and openly chose a side: “The MAGA Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Following these words, ABC suspended Kimmel’s show indefinitely. Nexstar and Sinclair, which own ABC affiliate stations, confirmed the news. Meanwhile, Danica Patrick followed US President Donald Trump’s public statements downplaying Jimmy Kimmel’s talents. She shared a post about Kimmel’s firing and wrote, “Human decency is coming back. Thank God.” Patrick also reposted a previous tweet of Charlie Kirk back in 2017. It read, “Jimmy Kimmel isn’t funny.”
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Danica Patrick, a long-time campaigner for Donald Trump, had previously credited her political trajectory to Charlie Kirk. “I got into politics because of Charlie Kirk,” she wrote in a post. “It truly was my turning point.” She continued, “Amfest (conservative political event) was my first political event, in December 2023, with my sister. The backlash I received for attending lit a fire under my ass, and I spoke at the same event the next year on top of campaigning for Donald Trump.”
It has been almost a decade since Danica Patrick hung up her firesuit. In 2018, she ended a mixed career of highs and lows on an average note, finishing the ‘Danica Double’ with twin crashes. She clinched 35th place in the Daytona 500 after crashing out on lap 101 and 30th place at the Indianapolis 500 after wrecking on lap 68. These were a far cry from her stellar results in the past, like her 2013 Daytona pole or her 2009 third-place finish in the Indy 500.
Now, Danica Patrick leads a career of outspoken opinions. And that expands beyond the political realm as well.
Calling out her former lover
While Danica Patrick called out people against her political opinions, she also called out her former romantic partner this year. Pittsburgh Steelers veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers entered a stream of controversy this year when three of his former partners spoke out against him. Shailene Woodley, the Fault In Our Stars actress, attributed anxiety and depression to the athlete. “I haven’t shared much about my relationship with Aaron(Rodgers) because it always makes me cry. It was not right,” she shared. Similarly, Olivia Munn, who has starred in Predator and X-Men: Apocalypse, said she felt “really trapped in a tumultuous family dynamic.”
Finally, Danica Patrick also spoke out on her past relationship with Aaron Rodgers this year. She said, “The breakup with Aaron(Rodgers) in 2020—because it was sudden, it felt like it was my life. When you live with somebody, it’s your whole life—your dentist appointments, your hairdo, your clothes, your mailing address, everything. Because the nature of the relationship was emotionally abusive, it wore me down to nothing.” Patrick added, “Something that people could never imagine is that I would lack any confidence or belief in the simple things about who I am. Everything was torn to bits…But it gave me the greatest gift, which was myself—how much I needed to show up for myself, take care of myself.”
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Evidently, Danica Patrick is working to make her life better. While she wades through her political opinions and past relationships, let’s wait and see what the future has in store for the former NASCAR driver.