Image claiming to show Jimmy Kimmel’s name in Epstein documents is fake

On Jan. 3, previously sealed court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein started getting released by a New York district judge. 

For several weeks leading up to the release, many people online have been claiming these documents would include a list of rich, powerful, and famous people who were Epstein’s clients. We VERIFIED no such client list was released. 

Even New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers mentioned the so-called Epstein list recently during a Jan. 2 interview with ESPN’s Pat McAfee. Rodgers suggested late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel could have a connection with Epstein. 

After the documents were released on Jan. 3, a viral X post claimed Rodgers’ suspicions were true. 

The post includes a screenshot appearing to be from a deposition transcript. The transcript text alleges Kimmel was involved in sexual relations with someone connected to Epstein.

THE QUESTION

Is the image claiming to show Jimmy Kimmel’s name in Epstein documents real?

THE SOURCES

• A review of documents unsealed on Jan. 3
• A review of documents unsealed on Jan. 4
• Jimmy Kimmel X post published on Jan. 2

THE ANSWER

No, the image claiming to show Jimmy Kimmel’s name in Epstein documents isn’t real.

WHAT WE FOUND

VERIFY went through the dozens of documents that began being unsealed on Jan. 3 and found no mention of Jimmy Kimmel. 

We also searched the documents for full sentences that appear in the screenshot, like “Jimmy suggested it himself,” and didn’t find the phrases anywhere. The screenshot also shows “Page 1375” in the top corner of the page, but no such page exists in the unsealed court documents.

The image that has gone viral is fake. 

The social media claims that Kimmel’s name might appear in the documents began after Rodgers’ comment on McAfee’s show.

After some banter between the hosts, Rodgers suggested on-air that Kimmel is affiliated with Epstein. 

“There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, hoping this [Epstein list] doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said on the show. 

On Jan. 2, Kimmel responded to Rodgers’ implication he could be connected to Epstein.

“Dear [expletive]: for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any “list” other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality. Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court. @AaronRodgers12,” Kimmel wrote. 

The apparent feud between Kimmel and Rodgers dates back years after Kimmel started discussing Rodgers in his show’s monologue after it was revealed the quarterback was never vaccinated against COVID-19. 

McAfee addressed Rodgers’ comments during his show on Jan. 3 and apologized for his show being part of any serious allegations made against Kimmel.

“I can see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially with his position. But I think Aaron was just trying to talk [expletive]. But did it go too far? Jimmy Kimmel certainly thought that was the case,” McAfee said. 

“We obviously don’t like the fact that we’re associated with anything negative ever. We like our show to be an uplifting one, a happy one, a fun one. But it’s because we talk [expletive] and try to make light of everything. Some things obviously people get very [expletive] off about, especially when they’re that serious allegations. We apologize for being a part of it. We can’t wait to hear what Aaron has to say about it. Hopefully these two will just be able to settle this. Not court-wise, but be able to chit-chat, move along,” McAfee said.

The people actually named in the unsealed court records include many of Epstein's accusers, members of his staff who told their stories to tabloid newspapers, people who served as witnesses at Maxwell's trial, people mentioned in passing in depositions, and people who investigated Epstein, including prosecutors, a journalist and a police detective. Jimmy Kimmel is not one of them.