It’s a hard time for people named Jeffrey Epstein right now. Just ask Jeffrey R. Epstein, a publicist at the Walt Disney Company.
The unlucky publicist has been posting photos online of all the hate mail and death threats he has received since the other Jeffrey Epstein—the multimillionaire and alleged child sex trafficker—was arrested in early July.
R. Epstein, who was noted in the Hollywood Reporter for being a “well-liked” and a “mild-mannered” employee at Disney, has now been mistaken with what can only be called his complete opposite.
And the hate mail only escalated this weekend after that Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell, causing R. Epstein to receive a mixture of threats and condolences.
“I guess I should appreciate all the RIPs, but I’m not dead. And I’m still *not* THAT Jeffrey Epstein,” R. Epstein tweeted on Saturday.
I guess I should appreciate all the RIPs, but I’m not dead. And I’m still *not* THAT Jeffrey Epstein.
— Jeffrey R Epstein (@EpsteinJeffrey) August 10, 2019
“Just what somebody who got a brand new face would say,” responded user @I_am_Reliable.
https://twitter.com/I_am_Reliable/status/1160339887515688961
Luckily, R. Epstein has shown a positive attitude throughout this unfortunate case of mistaken identity. He posted on both Twitter and Instagram screengrabs of the kind of hateful comments he’s been receiving.
Friends: So Jeffrey, how was your weekend?
— Jeffrey R Epstein (@EpsteinJeffrey) August 11, 2019
Me: pic.twitter.com/u5sVKYVftk
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0_i7iwg0fs/
And good citizens of the internet have been sticking up for him.
“You poor poor man, I’m so sorry that you have to deal with the stupidity of the internet,” commented one user on Instagram.
“As we all process what the ‘suicide’ of that monster means for his victims, I’d like to take another moment to remind ALL that @EpsteinJeffrey is NOT that monster,” tweeted Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown. “Please stop @ ing my friend w/vitriol. HE is still alive and is a good man. #Enough That’s it. That’s the tweet.”
As we all process what the “suicide” of that monster means for his victims, I’d like to take another moment to remind ALL that @EpsteinJeffrey is NOT that monster.
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) August 10, 2019
Please stop @ ing my friend w/vitriol. HE is still alive and is a good man. #Enough
That’s it. That’s the tweet.
“Loving you so much right now. ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you,” R. Epstein responded.
Loving you so much right now. ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you.
— Jeffrey R Epstein (@EpsteinJeffrey) August 10, 2019
“I have been thinking about you sympathetically through this whole thing,” Chopped host Ted Allen tweeted to him.
I have been thinking about you sympathetically through this whole thing.
— Ted Allen (@TheTedAllen) August 10, 2019
Other users on Twitter had more humorous advice for R. Epstein, including the suggestion that he should just change his name completely.
https://twitter.com/B52Malmet/status/1160897171035758592
Bro you gotta get a name change that dude really just fucked your entire shit up
— 🐈💎ᏨᎯᎢᎯᎦᎢᎡᎤᏢᏲᎥ💎🐈 (@Catastr0ph1) August 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/TDDK4400/status/1160688127645761536
And then there were those who could completely relate to his situation, as this year in politics and pop culture has seen the rise and fall of many people, and with that, many common names.
“This is way worse than the era of people thinking I was Roy Moore’s wife,” said @KaylaMoore.
This is way worse than the era of people thinking I was Roy Moore’s wife
— Kayla Moore VanHoose (@kaylamoore) August 12, 2019
“Ooof, that sucks. Not at ALL the same thing, but it’s been tough having the name ‘Karen’ lately. Used to love my name, now it’s synonymous with racist middle-age white soccer moms,” replied @Khallion.
Ooof, that sucks. Not at ALL the same thing, but it’s been tough having the name “Karen” lately. Used to love my name, now it’s synonymous with racist middle-age white soccer moms. :(
— Karen Hallion Kenney (@Khallion) August 11, 2019
“Yeah, my name has taken a hit too. BBQ Becky, Aunt Becky among others,” said @Becka1955
https://twitter.com/Becka1955/status/1160684523639758848
But this is hardly the first time R. Epstein has had to remind the internet that he was not an alleged pedophile or sex trafficker. When that Epstein was arrested on July 8, R. Epstein tweeted, “OK, reminder to all that I am not *THAT* Jeffrey Epstein.”
OK, reminder to all that I am not *THAT* Jeffrey Epstein. 🙄
— Jeffrey R Epstein (@EpsteinJeffrey) July 8, 2019
But clearly, the internet never caught on… or they haven’t scrolled that far down on R. Epstein’s Twitter feed.
Either way, R. Epstein is going to have a rough next few months. Especially since the FBI and the Department of Justice announced an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s death.
So, it looks like for the next few days, months, and possibly years, R. Epstein is going to have face Twitter trolls and conspiracy theorists.
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