Joe Rogan has made one thing clear: he never had any interest in meeting Jeffrey Epstein, not before the indictment, not after, not ever.
As the U.S. government continues to release documents tied to the Epstein case, including emails and photos gathered before his 2019 death, Joe Rogan’s name appeared in the files. But not for the reasons some might assume.
According to the documents, physicist Lawrence Krauss exchanged emails with Epstein in 2017 and discussed the possibility of arranging a dinner with Rogan. The meeting never happened. In fact, Rogan says it was never even close to happening.
“I’m in the files for not going,” Joe Rogan said on a recent episode of his podcast. “Because Jeffrey Epstein was trying to meet with me. I was like what? But I never would have went anyway. It’s not even a possibility that I would have went, especially after I Googled him.”
Rogan explained that one of his podcast guests attempted to facilitate the introduction back in 2017. His response was immediate and blunt.
“I was like what the fck are you talking about?” Rogan continued. “This was like 2017, one of my guests was trying to get me to meet him. I was like, ‘Are you high? What the fck are you talking about?’”
Epstein, a financier with connections to powerful political and business figures, had already faced legal trouble years earlier. In 2006, authorities charged him in Palm Beach, Florida, after the parents of a 14-year-old girl accused him of paying her for a massage. That case led to a broader investigation involving allegations from multiple underage girls who accused Epstein of sexual abuse.
Joe Rogan said that even before Epstein’s 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, he had no desire to associate with him. Rogan also pushed back on the idea that proximity to wealth and influence automatically appeals to everyone.
“If I was a guy who was sucking up to the rich and powerful,” Rogan said, “if I was really interested in hanging out with rich and powerful people, some people get intoxicated being in a circle of rich and powerful people. They don’t have any ambitions of being one of those people, they just want to be around them.”
Rogan emphasized that he has never operated that way. His inclusion in the Epstein files stems from declining a meeting, not attending one.
Joe Rogan continues to address the topic openly on his platform, making it clear that curiosity about powerful figures does not equal association and in this case, the meeting never moved beyond an email suggestion.
