Furthermore, we know how important the task of discrediting survivor testimony is to the Epstein class as a whole, because we saw it play out very publicly in 2017 with the #MeToo movement, and the organized backlash against it by abusive men with positions of power in our society. How would the world's most famous pedophile, and those in his orbit respond to a society-wide shift in the discourse encouraging us to "believe women" and survivors? Well, if his inbox is any indication, #Epstein himself helped organize the backlash to discredit the movement, at the prompting of Michael Wolff; who is being exposed as an enabler for Epstein's influence trading operation and image rehabilitation efforts, through these file releases.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/feb/06/epstein-files-metoo
Epstein said he was ‘asked everyday’ for advice on #MeToo: ‘So many guys reaching out to me’
"But when taken together, the emails, texts and other documents contained in the releases reveal Epstein’s engagement with the #MeToo movement and the men felled by it. In some cases, the convicted child sex offender and a coterie of elites strategized over how to blunt the power of the #MeToo movement and the women who fueled it.
“So many guys caught in the me too . reaching out to me. asking when does the madness stop,” Epstein wrote in December 2018 to a recipient whose identity is redacted."
Like every article about Epstein plotting with influential people, this piece is a hot mess that simultaneously drops too many bombshell revelations to keep track of, while also minimizing how deeply incriminating all of this is for literally anyone emailing the world's most famous pedophile blackmailer for advice on how to handle sexual assault, abuse, and harassment allegations against them or their rich friends. I guess if you know you're guilty, you turn to the guy who literally got away with a sex trafficking ring through networking and top flight public relations management, right?
If you want all the good dirt, you're going to have to read the whole article but let's put publicist #PeggySiegall, intellectual #NoamChomsky, and technologist #JoiIto on the "confirmed friends and confidants of Epstein who vented with him about #MeToo" list, "journalist" #RichardWolff, and scientist #LawrenceKrauss on the "strategized with Epstein about how to discredit survivor accusations and accounts in the wake of the #MeToo movement" list, and noted creep abusers outed during the #MeToo reckoning #StephenElliott and #LorinStein on standby because we don't have them talking to Epstein directly, but Richard Wolff sought out Epstein's advice on their behalf and it would appear that Elliot in particular acted on that advice.
And that is the part I want to focus on, because while I'm tempted to believe The Guardian buried the lede here, the reality that Epstein was deeply involved in developing a strategy to protect other powerful rich men accused of abusing their status to engage in sexual violence and harassment against women is exposed in the article - they just broke it up into two parts.
"Wolff wanted Epstein to support Stephen Elliott, a writer looking to sue the creator of the Shitty Media Men List, a crowd-sourced Google Doc that detailed anonymous allegations of misconduct against dozens of men who worked in the media industry.
“I have always thought that the way back from this climate is through specific instances of individuals successfully challenging their persecution,” Wolff wrote to Epstein, according to emails released in a tranche from the so-called Epstein files. “If his story is solid he might be worth supporting.”
Initially, Epstein was unmoved. In a single-word, no-punctuation email, the convicted sexual offender replied: “tough.”
“Give it some further thought, if you would,” wrote Wolff, who had originally received Elliott’s pitch through Lorin Stein, the former editor of the prestigious Paris Review and another name on the Shitty Media Men List. “I think there is an opening here. What you need is an excuse – or opportunity – to make the public argument.”
Epstein relented: “ill help anyway i can. if you like.”
Weeks later, Elliott sued Moira Donegan, the Shitty Media Men List’s creator."
Of course, we only have access to the Epstein emails already released, so all we know is that tons of influential people seemed to think Epstein was the go-to guy on #MeToo; which is incriminating in its own right. But as the Guardian slyly notes later, the proof of the plot is kind of in the pudding.
"Wolff’s apparent suggestion, that accused individuals file lawsuit proved prescient, since defamation lawsuits have become a major feature of the backlash to #MeToo. As of last year, nearly a fifth of the 400-plus cases supported by the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, a post-#MeToo organization that helps people who survived sexual harassment at work, were in defense of someone sued for defamation."
Folks the plot to erase "believe women" as an IDEA goes deep.
Interesting take on the whole #Epstein thing showing some of our hideous leading atheists' strong connections to him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoO9FZXUgv4
#RebeccaWatson is ace - as is #PZMyers - the pair having consistently called out the privileged sex criminals in their midst and broken friendships thereby.
So #RichardDawkins , #LawrenceKrauss , #MichaelShermer et al - we see you.
After Cristina Rad’s accusations about #LawrenceKrauss I was happy to reject him for good even though I'd enjoyed his debates on religion.
But I never knew what to do with #RichardDawkins. Certainly people I respected in turn respected him, his work seemed quite perceptive, and his debates with theists were incisive and civil.
But he also behaved in ways I found bizarre, and I was left just appreciating his good work but not amplifying him in any way because I didn’t know who I would have been amplifying.
Now I do.
https://skepchick.org/2026/02/epstein-files-reveal-how-pathetic-richard-dawkins-other-men-are/
"Epstein was closely monitoring the fallout of allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, who would later be convicted of rape; directors Woody Allen and Brett Ratner; talk show host Charlie Rose; comedian Louis C.K.; former 'Today Show' host Matt Lauer; and ex-CBS chairman Les Moonves."
#Epstein #MeToo #women #HarveyWeinstein #WoodyAllen #BrettRatner #CharlieRose #LouisCK #MattLauer #LesMoonves #LawrenceKrauss
/8
"Behind the scenes, Epstein used his resources and influence to advise other men accused of sexual misconduct, like [Lawrence] Krauss, and wondered how the reckoning could impact him."
#Epstein #MeToo #women #HarveyWeinstein #WoodyAllen #BrettRatner #CharlieRose #LouisCK #MattLauer #LesMoonves #LawrenceKrauss
/7
"Epstein and his allies derided the women who came forward while expressing concern about the movement’s impact. Epstein sent links to news articles and swapped messages about which powerful men 'went down,' were 'up to bat' and had been 'whacked.'”
#Epstein #MeToo #women #HarveyWeinstein #WoodyAllen #BrettRatner #CharlieRose #LouisCK #MattLauer #LesMoonves #LawrenceKrauss
/6
"In 2017, the #MeToo movement sparked a reckoning for men at the highest levels of the entertainment and media industries — some of whom had traveled in Epstein’s circles. The files provide a rare window into how Epstein reacted and strategized in real time to the political and cultural earthquake of #MeToo."
~ Grace Panetta
#Epstein #MeToo #women #HarveyWeinstein #WoodyAllen #BrettRatner #CharlieRose #LouisCK #MattLauer #LesMoonves #LawrenceKrauss
/5
What’s your Epstein Number?
The release of the latest batch of information relating to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein got me thinking about the number of physicists on friendly terms with that individual and that in turn got me thinking about the Erdős Number, which I blogged about here, and about constructing some sort of metric relating to a person’s connecttion to Epstein.
The Erdős Number? It’s actually quite simple to define. First, Erdős himself is assigned an Erdős number of zero. Anyone who co-authored a paper with Erdős then has an Erdős number of 1. Then anyone who wrote a paper with someone who wrote a paper with Erdős has an Erdős number of 2, and so on. The Erdős number is thus a measure of “collaborative distance”, with lower numbers representing closer connections. A list of individuals with very low Erdős numbers (1, 2 or 3) can be found here. As it happens, mine is three.
The main difference between an Erdős Number and a putative Epstein Number is that most people think’s a nice thing to have a low Erdős Number whereas the opposite is probably the case for evidence of close collaboration with Jeffrey Epstein…
It is also difficult to define an equivalent to the Erdős Number for Epstein as the form of “colloboration” is less easily catergorised than publishing a paper. I think it is probably fairer to base a number simply on the number of people you know who met Epstein personally (assuming you didn’t know him yourself). Anyone who did know Epstein personally therefore gets an automatic red card. It would also be very difficult for a typical person to work out how many people they have met who have met someone who has met Epstein, etc.
I was intrigued by this because it is known that Epstein liked hanging out with scientists and, being a scientist myself, I wondered if anyone I knew had been drawn into the Epstein circle. It’s unreasonable to count anyone who appears in the Epstein files as having “known” Epstein because many of the names simply appear on emails sent by Epstein to which no reply was apparently ever received or which were not indicative of a working relationship or personal friendship, sometimes quite the opposite.
Anyway, based on a not very thorough bit of research I came across the following people who I have met in person who met and knew Jeffrey Epstein to a greater or lesser extent.
First, there’s Lawrence Krauss who left his position at Arizona State University as a consequence of a sexual misconduct case. He features prominently in the Epstein correspondence, including many messages about the disciplinary case brought against him at ASU. I met Lawrence Krauss in the 1990s at an Aspen Summer School for Physics, where I shared an office with him for about two weeks. I wouldn’t say that we got on well.
Second, there’s Harvard theoretical physicist Lisa Randall, whom I met at a meeting in South Africa about 25 years ago. The disturbing thing about her case is that she carried on interacting with Epstein even after his conviction for sex offences, visiting Epstein’s island home and travelling on his private jet.
Another name that comes up frequently in the Epstein files is John Brockman, a well-known literary agent. I met him at the Experiment Marathon in Reykjavik in 2008. In fact we were placed next to each other alphabetically speaking in the list of contributors:
Our conversations at that meeting were limited to small talk. As a matter of fact I didn’t really know who he was! He certainly didn’t offer me a lucrative book deal like he did with certain other physicists. The topic never arose.
The files also contain references to Stephen Hawking (who died in 2018), including allegations about him made by Virginia Giuffre. Hawking was never charged with any crime but it is the case that he met Epstein at least once, at a meeting organized by Lawrence Krauss on St Thomas, close to Epstein Island. I met Stephen Hawking on a number of occasions.
So according to this my Epstein Number is four. I have had no contact with any people who knew Epstein since 2008 and very little before that. Although it is perhaps indicative of a lack of eminence, I can’t say I’m sorry this number is low. I may have missed some, of course.
P.S. It is worth reading Peter Woit’s blog post on this topic and Scott Aaronson’s here.
#ErdosNumber #JeffreyEpstein #JohnBrockman #LawrenceKrauss #LisaRandall #PaulErdos #StephenHawking
#Epstein Files Reveal How Pathetic #RichardDawkins & Other Men Are - YouTube
Worth a watch. When it comes to sexual predators, it's always those you most suspect.
#Epstein #EpsteinFiles #LawrenceKrauss #RichardDawkins #Atheism
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