The Ole Miss freshman who became the target of a disturbing internet rumor that gained significant traction in late February is now considering legal action against ESPN and Pat McAfee, who touched upon the wild accusations on his ESPN show, and the fallout from the gossip has had a devastating impact on her life.
In an interview with The Athletic, 18-year-old Mary Kate Cornett shared the emotional turmoil she has been going through over the past five weeks that has ruined her life. She said she wants "people to be held accountable for what they've done" in giving life to an unfounded rumor that she slept with her boyfriend's father.
Taking the Help of Law
"You're ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention, 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," said Cornett, who is now planning to atke legal action against ESPN and others possibly for their roles in "spreading the rumor," according to The Athletic.
McAfee, who did not reply to The Athletic's request for comment, and an ESPN spokesperson also declined to comment, brought up the rumor during the February 26 episode of "The Pat McAfee Show," though he did not directly mention Cornett by name.
While discussing the situation with guest Adam Schefter, the NFL insider asked, "So where is [Ole Miss quarterback] Jaxson Dart in all this?" during the taping of McAfee's show at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.
Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown and Barstool Sports personality KFC Barstool have also faced criticism for their public references to the story.
"I (can't) even walk on campus without people taking pictures of me or screaming my name or saying super vulgar, disgusting things to me," Cornett told The Athletic.
What Really Happened
In late February, Cornett slammed McAfee and others in a statement posted on a GoFundMe page set up by her father, Justin. All funds raised would be "used to provide seed capital establishing a foundation focused on helping innocent victims of similar defamatory cyber attacks."
"I have been the victim of a deliberate and coordinated cyberattack spreading categorically false and defamatory information," the statement read.
"... Irresponsible independent social media influencers with apparent ties to Barstool Sports and even major public figures like Antonio Brown and Pat McAfee who hosts ESPN's College Game Day have shared these utter and complete lies with zero interest in the truth, but instead spreading outlandish conjecture. No one affiliated with these organizations ever reached out to us for comment. Most alarmingly, my personal contact information has been doxed illegally shared publicly, putting my personal safety at risk. Many notes sent suggest I even take my own life."
Justin elaborated on the sense of helplessness he has experienced as a father during this troubling ordeal.
"The only way I could describe it is it's like you're walking with your daughter on the street, holding her hand, and a car mirror snags her shirt and starts dragging her down the road. And all you can do is watch," he told The Athletic. "You can't catch the car. You can't stop it from happening. You just have to sit there and watch your kid be destroyed."
Cornett, who has switched to online classes at the university, worries that this situation could hinder her prospects in the job market and has also thought about how her future children might perceive the incident.
