Joe Rogan has fiercely criticized a former podcast guest who attempted to connect him with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following the revelation of his name appearing in recently released Justice Department files. The popular podcaster addressed the situation during a recent episode featuring actress Cheryl Hines, explaining he was only mentioned in the documents because Epstein wanted to meet him—and he declined.
According to emails released by the DOJ, physicist Lawrence Krauss—who previously appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience—communicated with Epstein in September 2017 about facilitating an introduction.
Epstein had reportedly watched Krauss's appearance on Rogan's show and found the host "funny," prompting him to ask Krauss to set up a meeting. When Krauss approached Rogan about the potential dinner, Rogan responded with disbelief: "I was like, 'b*tch, are you high?'".
Rogan Never Considered Meeting Epstein
"I'm in the files for not going," Rogan explained on his podcast. "It's not even a possibility that I would have went, especially after I Googled him". After Rogan declined, Krauss reported back to Epstein that the podcaster was "more timid than I would have thought," according to the released documents.
The UFC commentator's name surfaced as part of the massive DOJ document release regarding Epstein, the disgraced financier who was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution and faced numerous allegations of sex trafficking before his death in 2019. Rogan has been vocal about demanding transparency regarding the Epstein investigation and has previously criticized governmental handling of the case.