Jeffrey Epstein is a famous name for all the wrong reasons, and one man became acutely aware when the name became notorious—because he has the same one.
Jeffrey Epstein, who goes by Jeff, is originally from New York City and now based in Oregon, is 56 years old, and in recent years has, unsurprisingly, started getting strange reactions to his name.
He told Newsweek that, because of their shared name, “I had been aware of him as a ‘mysterious billionaire’ much earlier than most of the public,” but after the major global news stories began breaking in recent years, the name “created challenges” for him.
“I learned the hard way that if I was doing open mics, I had to tell the host it was really my name, and not someone pulling a prank,” Epstein said. “I had to show my ID a few times, [and] I’ll get the occasional odd, almost sympathetic look at TSA or hotel registration desks, etcetera.”
Police officers have commented on the name during traffic stops, and reaching out to prospective clients via email for his “day job” business can be awkward, but Epstein has decided to “make lemonade out of lemons” with the unfortunate coincidence.
“I never really thought about changing my name, or using my middle name, even though I have always joked about it,” he said. Instead, in 2022 he decided to take the leap on his “lifelong dream” of trying stand-up comedy, and, naturally, some of his routine comes from “the awkwardness of sharing the same name.”
“I’m sure that many have seen or heard my name and dismissed it as a scam or prank—but who would make that up?” he said. “After years of it, I’m at peace with the situation, particularly since I have found a way to find tasteful humor about my experience.”
In December, Epstein shared an insight into his life with a video to his Instagram account, @not_the_real_jeffrey_e, where he began by telling the camera straight out: “My name is Jeffrey Epstein. Really.”
He explained in the video that it was the name given to him at birth, and has been “quite an unfortunate name to have these last 10 years,” and instead of changing his name, “decided to stick it out and become a stand-up comedian instead, making fun of my reality of sharing a name with a notorious criminal.”
It had a huge online reaction, being viewed close to 9 million times, as reactions ranged from sympathetic to baffled, and some voicing concerns it was disrespectful to victims of the pedophile.
“Genuinely feel bad for you and I think you are dealing with it really well,” one said, another agreeing: “I honestly feel really bad for this guy.”
“No one in their right mind wants to joke about any of this,” another said.
Epstein told Newsweek: “I am a mostly clean comedian, and have always had my humor focus on silly, self-deprecating, awkward aspects of my daily reality, not the dark behavior of others.”
He acknowledged that “it is sensitive and I recognize that, and I try to navigate it with tact and grace, recognizing that like a lot of things, not everyone will be a fan.
“My comedy is not entirely just about my name, but obviously that is the most memorable material, and authentic for me,” he said, adding: “As a Gen X comedian, I also find humor in a lot of other topics that come with life experiences.”
He said he only began posting clips of his stand-up online after his daughter, 26, encouraged him, so as “not to be famous for having the same name,” but to develop his comedy career in itself.
“My life would be easier to not seek the attention over my name—but I committed to pursue being a comedian, and navigating the positive and negative attention of social media is part of it.”
And embracing the online world is helping his career, he explained.
“I started comedy in June of 2022, but I intentionally chose to not post content on social media, rather just saving it for in-person shows and also allowing time for me to develop,” he said.
Now, by posting online what he called “releasing the Epstein Comedy Files,” he had gone viral within weeks.
“In this era, getting booked as a comedian, even an opener/feature, at a club or festival, requires having a respectable social media following. It’s part of the game, and it was a step I needed to take to be more visible and bookable,” he said.
Epstein has since appeared on podcasts and has upcoming comedy shows, which viewers can keep up with on his social media profiles.
