Joe Rogan hits back after being mentioned in Epstein files
He has claimed that the convicted sex offender was 'trying to' arrange a meeting with him
Joe Rogan has shared an explanation about why his name appears in the files that are related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The podcast host and UFC commentator, 58, was among the hordes of high-profile people mentioned in the latest release, which saw the US Department of Justice release more than three million documents.
A host of household names - including more than a dozen famous faces who hail from the UK - were featured in the mass of files.
Although this is not an indication of any wrongdoing, many stars have publicly addressed their name being dragged into the scandal in a bid to squash speculation that they were somehow involved with Epstein.
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Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk rubbished the 'nonsense narrative' that he got married on the sex offender's notorious island, while poker playing playboy Dan Bilzerian also addressed why a string of his photos were included.
Celebrities don't want their name connected to Epstein, for obvious reasons - but if you ask Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's former girlfriend, it's an 'insult' if you are famous and aren't named in the Epstein files.
Lady Victoria Hervey controversially said earlier this month: "If you were on the scene and you were powerful, to be honest, if you're not in those files, it would be an insult because it just means that you were a bit of a loser."
Now, Rogan has revealed the reason behind why his name cropped up in the documents.
While sat down with Cheryl Hines, a Florida-born actress who is the wife of US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr, he claimed that Epstein had previously attempted to arrange a meeting with him.
In the episode of The Joe Rogan Experience which was released on Tuesday (10 February), Rogan said the latest document dump as a 'big eye opener' for a lot of people.
Explaining why his name was mentioned, Rogan told Hines he was 'in the files for not going' to Epstein's island.
Rogan said: "Jeffrey Epstein was trying to meet with me. And I was like, 'What? Like, no thanks'. It’s not even a possibility that I would’ve ever went, especially after I Googled him.
"I was like, what the f**k are you talking about? This was like 2017. One of my guests was trying to get me to meet him. I was like, 'B**ch are you high? Like, what the f**k are you talking about?'"
It is believed that the former podcast guest Rogan was referencing might have been theoretical physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss, according to Variety.
The 71-year-old appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience back in 2017, as Rogan mentioned, meaning the timeline also marries up.
In September that year, Epstein sent an email to Krauss in wake of the interview, asking if the boffin could 'introduce' him to Rogan as he thought the podcast host was 'funny'.
According to Krauss, he floated the idea, but never heard back from Rogan.
Rogan then suggested that only someone who was interested in 'sucking up to the rich and powerful' would accept an invitation to meet with Epstein.
"Some people get intoxicated by being in a circle of rich and powerful people, even if they don’t have any ambitions of being one of those people," Rogan went on. "They just want to be around them.
"Because what this guy was doing was very clever in that he was getting all of these very powerful and very respected people together. And you would figure, 'Oh [Bill] Clinton's here. How could this be bad?'
"He would bring all these people in, all these famous people and entertainers and intellectuals and professors...You would go, I guess to these places and that's how he'd convince everyone that everything would be fine."
Rogan previously mocked the response from former president Bill Clinton after further images of him and Epstein were released in the files, saying: "We got photos of you in a hot tub, buddy."
President Donald Trump also previously shared his thoughts on Clinton's inclusion in the images, saying he 'hated' seeing him in the snaps.
Topics: Joe Rogan, Jeffrey Epstein, US News
Olivia Burke