Joe Rogan says he had no interest in meeting Jeffrey Epstein, even years before the financier was charged again and later died in jail.
As more government papers tied to the Epstein case become public, Rogan’s name showed up in a small part of the record. The reason was not a visit or a friendship. It was because someone tried and failed to set up a meeting.
That person was Lawrence Krauss, a past guest on Rogan’s podcast. In 2017, Krauss exchanged emails with Epstein and was asked about arranging a dinner with Rogan. The plan never moved forward. In one reply, Krauss even said Rogan was “more timid than I would have thought” while explaining that the meeting was not going to happen.
On a recent episode of his show, Rogan talked about why his name appeared at all.
“I’m in the files for not going [to meet with Epstein],” Rogan said. “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 Google’d him.”
He then explained how the request reached him in the first place.
“I was like what the f*ck are you talking about? This was like 2017, one of my guests was trying to get me to meet him. I was like bitch, are you high? What the fck are you talking about?”
Joe Rogan comes out looking solid in the Epstein files.
In September 2017, months after physicist Lawrence Krauss appeared on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ (March 2017), Jeffrey Epstein emailed Krauss trying to get an intro to Rogan. He said he thought Rogan was “funny”.
Krauss… pic.twitter.com/3hdUEg3ARK
— J Stewart (@triffic_stuff_) February 8, 2026
Why Epstein Was Already A Known Name
Long before his 2019 arrest, Epstein had faced serious legal trouble. In 2006, police in Palm Beach, Florida, began an investigation after a 14 year old girl’s parents said he paid her for a massage. More claims from underage girls followed.
The FBI became involved, but that case ended after Epstein agreed to plead guilty to two state charges. He served time in a minimum security jail.
Years later, federal prosecutors charged him again, this time with sex trafficking of minors. He was arrested in 2019 and died in his cell about a month later. Medical examiners ruled his death a suicide.
Why The Files Are Being Released
Recently, thousands of pages tied to the Epstein case were made public after pressure from lawmakers from both parties. The release happened during the administration of Donald Trump. The documents include names of former presidents, business leaders, and well known figures. Being named in the files does not mean a person committed a crime. In many cases, it only shows that someone’s name came up in emails or contact lists.
Rogan says his situation is simple. His name appears because he turned the idea down.
He also spoke about why some people were drawn to Epstein at the time.
“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 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.”
For Rogan, the story ends there. He says there was never a meeting, never a plan that moved forward, and never a chance he would have gone. His only role in the records, by his own account, is that he said no.
