It’s the little things, folks. Little things like the fact that Harvey Epstein is a real person with a really unfortunate name, or that he really is a Democrat in Manhattan running for city council. That Harvey Epstein is not just a character John Mulaney and the writers at Saturday Night Live dreamed up, but actually a real person with thoughts about his fake appearance on late night sketch television, is a little thing that can bring us all joy in these dark political times.
Epstein spoke with local outlet City & State New York (via EW) about the faux-campaign ad the SNL host starred in on Sunday, November 3. And, because he’s a politician and real person, Harvey Epstein had a lot to say about it!
Is Harvey Epstein Real? The Actual Politician, Not John Mulaney, Responds
With a name that combines two of the most infamous sex criminals of the modern era (Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein), it would be easy to assume that Harvey Epstein was a fake character and not a real human man. But in speaking with City & State, Harvey Epstein confirmed that he is not only a real — and really unfortunately-named — person, but also that he seemed to enjoy and agree with the sketch. For the most part.
“John Mulaney was wearing earrings, he had a bald head, he was wearing the clothes I wear a lot – so I think he did those pieces right,” Epstein said. He even posted on Sunday to X that “I agree with John @mulaney … let’s not call it Epstein’s Island,” referring to a line in the video.
The current State Assembly member (running for City Council) also enjoyed that the fake ad included his very real fight for tenant rights in the chamber. “That’s a great part of the sketch,” he said.
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However, Epstein also admitted that it was “a little freaky” to see himself being parodied on television, especially as it was a complete surprise. He also added that it was “really critical that I take the joy out of the joke and also be serious about issues of domestic violence,” calling Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein “two horrible human beings.”
In the sketch, Mulaney — complete with bald cap and tiny earrings — laments having to spend so much of his time on the campaign trail convincing voters that he is neither Harvey Weinstein, nor Jeffrey Epstein. “I’m not gonna lie,” Mulaney says. “The name thing has become a bit of an issue. ‘Harvey’ I can almost handle – but ‘Epstein’? This thing is an albatross.” A later scene features Mulaney’s Epstein pointing to photos of Weinstein and Epstein to assert that not only are they different people, “they certainly didn’t combine to form one person and make me.”
Mulaney is well known for crafting niche New York City sketches, both when he was a writer, and in his later returns as host. So it would not be surprising to see his iteration of Harvey Epstein make a reappearance next time he hosts. And if not, the real Harvey Epstein says he would be more than happy to head to SNL in his place.
The longest-running sketch-comedy/satire show on television, premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live is a weekly series that features new hosts for each episode, with a core cast of actors and comedians that rotate over time. Episodes feature several skits that are sometimes ad-libbed on the fly, with the hosts engaging in most of them, and also provide musical guest performances that cap off each night.