Pat McAfee’s trip to Oxford, Mississippi, over the weekend brought more than just another high-profile college football stage. During No.
8 Ole Miss’s Sept. 19 matchup with No. 7 LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, cameras caught McAfee on the sideline alongside Mary Kate Cornett, the Ole Miss student whose name was tied to a false rumor that had previously become a major controversy around his show.
The sight of the two together quickly drew attention online, with one observer saying the pair “hung out together all night.” That reaction landed because of everything that came before it.
Cornett was the subject of an anonymous post in February 2025 that falsely claimed she had been involved with her boyfriend’s father. The rumor snowballed into manipulated photos and online harassment before McAfee discussed it on his show without naming her directly.
McAfee later admitted the damage that followed. “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 during his July 2025 apology.
Cornett had already made clear she was considering legal action, saying, “not a public figure that you can go talk about on your show to get more views.” Her family’s attorney later said the matter had been resolved outside of court.
That backdrop made the sideline video especially striking. One fan wrote, “Mary Kate Cornett standing with mcafee after she sued him…” Another asked, “Didn’t Mary Kate Cornett sue Pat ????” Cornett had intended to file a lawsuit, but ultimately did not.
The Ole Miss-LSU broadcast had other viral moments too, including a fan whose handmade sign turned into an $18,000 windfall. But McAfee and Cornett standing together ended up becoming one of the most talked-about images from the night. Neither McAfee nor Cornett has publicly addressed the September appearance beyond the original post and its caption.
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