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State Farm speaks up in support of brand ambassador Aaron Rodgers after vaccine controversy: 'We respect his right to have his own personal point of view'
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

State Farm speaks up in support of brand ambassador Aaron Rodgers after vaccine controversy: 'We respect his right to have his own personal point of view'

State Farm Insurance has spoken up in support of its ambassador, Aaron Rodgers, who found himself in the middle of a COVID-19 vaccine controversy after reports emerged that Rodgers never received the coronavirus vaccine.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback did not play over the weekend, following a COVID-19 diagnosis.

In August, Rodgers circumvented questions from the press regarding his vaccination status and said that he had been "immunized."

What are the details?

In a Monday statement to USA Today Sports, a spokesperson for the company said, "Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade."

“We don't support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view," the spokesperson added. "We recognize our customers, employees, agents, and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone's right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances."

What else is there to know about this?

Earlier in the day, CNN Business reported that Rodgers' State Farm commercials were disappearing from television airwaves in light of the controversy.

"Aaron Rodgers has been prominently featured in State Farm's television ads for about a decade," the report read. "This past weekend, he was almost nowhere to be found."

Apex Marketing, which tracks national ad buying, reported that Rodgers was featured in just 1.5% of all 400 State Farm TV ads on Sunday — a large reduction after having appeared in at least 25% of State Farm ads over the previous two Sundays.

Apex Marketing President Eric Smallwood told the outlet, however, that the reduction of Rodgers ads was not planned.

"Our monitoring indicates that this wasn't a planned reduction and more reactionary because there wasn't any new significant ads put in its place," Smallwood said in a statement.

Over the weekend, Wisconsin-based Prevea Health cut ties with Rodgers, who was a spokesperson for the health company.

The company in a statement said, "Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers, and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods."

Rodgers had been a spokesman for the company since 2012.

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