Joe Rogan has publicly admitted that reading the newly released Jeffrey Epstein files changed his position on the case entirely, calling the contents “clearly demonic. ” The podcaster, who spent years interviewing conspiracy theorists and government critics, stayed silent for two weeks after the Department of Justice released over 3. 5 million pages of documents in January 2026 before addressing the material on his show with Dr. Robert Malone.
“I thought there were probably some really sick people with an appetite for that, but I hadn’t seen any real evidence for it until these files,” Rogan said. “And now they’re like, ‘Oh, this is clearly demonic. ‘” He added that people had been sending him things on his phone that he genuinely did not want to look at. The files were released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress in November 2025, which forced the DOJ to make all documents connected to the case public.
The release included emails, flight logs, contact books, court documents, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images. However, the government identified 6 million pages as relevant to the case while releasing only 3. 5 million, leaving 2. 5 million pages unreleased.
People quickly discovered that many of the government’s redactions were ineffective. Copying blacked-out text and pasting it elsewhere often revealed the underlying words, meaning some information the government attempted to hide became public within hours. Rogan’s own name appeared in the files in February 2026 when the DOJ released another batch. He addressed it immediately, saying someone from Epstein’s circle had reached out to him around 2017 trying to arrange a meeting.
Rogan said he Googled Epstein, saw what came up, and refused. He described his response to the outreach as, “Bitch, are you high? What the fuck are you talking about? ”
Rogan used his own appearance in the files as an example of why being named does not automatically indicate wrongdoing.
However, observers noted that he never mentioned the name of the person who tried to connect him with Epstein. That person was physicist Lawrence Krauss, a former guest on Rogan’s show. One of the most contentious moments in Rogan’s coverage came after FBI Director Kash Patel appeared on his show in June 2025. When Rogan asked directly whether videos from Epstein’s island exist, Patel answered, “Not of what you want,” a response Rogan later called a carefully worded non-answer.
A month later, Rogan expressed frustration on air, saying, “The guy’s saying there’s no tapes, no video. That doesn’t make any sense. Everyone knows it doesn’t make any sense. ” He accused the Trump administration, which he had publicly endorsed, of gaslighting the public about the files.
Rogan explained that he did not push back more forcefully during the interview because he wanted to “put this out there and let the internet do its work. ”
Multiple victims over the years have described cameras installed throughout Epstein’s homes and on his private island, with one victim describing an entire room dedicated to monitoring footage. The FBI says they found nothing. The release of the files has sparked intense public scrutiny of the names contained within them.
Being named does not automatically mean involvement in criminal activity, as Epstein’s contact book alone contained hundreds of entries, flight logs included names of people who rode his jet once, and some individuals appear in documents simply because they attended the same events. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears in the files several times.
He voluntarily explained that he took two plane rides with Epstein, once in 1993 with his wife and children and once for a fossil-hunting trip with his kids in South Dakota. He also encountered Epstein at events like the Robin Hood fundraiser in New York. His wife, Cheryl Hines, personally knew Ghislaine Maxwell. RFK Jr.
is not accused of any wrongdoing in the files. Dr. Peter Attia, a wellness doctor and frequent Rogan guest, appears in the files with emails that are harder to explain away. One email had Attia telling Epstein, “There are no calories when you go down on a woman.
” Another reference described Attia experiencing what someone called “Jeffrey Epstein withdrawal. ” These were direct personal emails to Epstein, not mere contact book mentions. Attia issued a public statement about the emails. Comedian Andrew Schulz, who also hosted Attia on his show, criticized him on air.
Rogan, who had perhaps the closest relationship with Attia, remained silent, a silence many found more telling than anything else he said about the files. A viral story claiming the files named Ellen DeGeneres as a cannibal spread rapidly in February 2026, racking up millions of shares. PolitiFact, Snopes, and IBTimes UK all investigated and found zero evidence in the actual released documents. The claim was built on AI-generated audio clips designed to sound like whistleblower testimony.
Ellen’s name does appear in the files but only in passing, the same way thousands of other names do. She is not accused of anything in any document the DOJ has released. The files also reveal the methods Epstein and his associates used to keep victims silent for decades. The first tool was money paired with non-disclosure agreements.
Victims were offered settlements, but to accept them, they had to sign legal documents drafted by Epstein’s expensive lawyers that prohibited them from ever speaking about what happened. Many young women from low-income backgrounds felt the money was their only way out and took it, carrying the secret alone for the rest of their lives. For those who refused the money, Epstein’s team launched character assassination campaigns. He had connections to media companies, journalists, and PR firms, and anyone who tried to come forward publicly faced coordinated efforts to paint them as liars or opportunists.
The framing survived for years, appearing even recently when Mike Benz described Epstein’s victims on Rogan’s show as “girls who juice deals. ”
Epstein’s legal team also engaged in what victims described as legal terrorism. They threatened expensive, drawn-out lawsuits that could take years and cost everything a victim had, even if the victim was telling the complete truth. The message was clear: speak up and the next decade of your life will be miserable.
Physical intimidation was also reported. Multiple victims said they were followed after trying to go public, believed their phones were tapped, and received threatening messages at their homes. The files show Epstein had connections that reached into law enforcement, government, and at least one email suggested contacts in foreign intelligence circles. Global power connections played a significant role as well.
In July 2015, an email showed Epstein reaching out to Sergey Belyakov, a Russian official connected to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, about silencing a woman trying to expose powerful businessmen. Epstein framed the situation as “bad for business for everyone involved. ” One might joke about such claims, but let’s not waste time in our conference call on this, he wrote. He had people in multiple countries, politicians, businessmen, media figures, and foreign officials willing to help keep things quiet because they all had reasons to protect themselves.
The 2. 5 million unreleased pages remain a central controversy. The DOJ says it has met its legal obligations, but lawmakers like Representative Ro Khanna disagree. In February 2026, the United Nations criticized the release, saying the redactions were flawed, victim information was exposed carelessly, and credible evidence of large-scale abuse still has not been properly investigated.
The DOJ’s own July 2025 memo stated they found no client list and no evidence of blackmail, but since half the documents identified were never released, questions remain about whether the search covered the released pages or the withheld ones. In May 2026, the Institute for Primary Facts opened a public reading room in Manhattan called the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room, where all 3. 5 million released pages were printed into nearly 3,500 bound volumes weighing about 17,000 pounds.
Anyone could walk in and review them in person. Despite this, the most important questions still lack answers.
