Meet the real Harvey Epstein, the man with the worst name in politics

Harvey Epstein, a little-known local politician running for the New York City Council, unwittingly became the subject of a sketch on Saturday Night Live, one of America’s most famous comedy shows – turning him into an overnight sensation this weekend.

In a two-minute sketch featuring last weekend’s SNL host, comedian John Mulaney, Epstein’s unfortunate combination of first and last name – which calls to mind two of America’s most disgraced sexual predators, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein – is spoofed as part of a comedic campaign ad.

Epstein is played by Mulaney, depicted in the sketch as a straight-talking local New York politician trying to dispel confusion around his identity.

John Mulaney poses as NYC assemblyman Harvey Epstein in a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch that aired on 2 November. (Photo: Screenshot via SNL)[Missing Credit]

“Look, is my name ideal? Of course not. I share names with two of the most notorious sex perverts of all time. You think I don’t know that? But thankfully, I’m a different guy,” Mulaney says in the sketch, wearing a bald cap and two small silver hoop earrings to imitate Epstein’s look. He is filmed in various New York locales: digging a pit with builders and telling them to “say Epstein” as they smile for press photos; pointing to pictures of both Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein at a conference, under each of which is a caption: “Not me” and “Different Guy.”

“I’m not gonna lie, the name thing has become a bit of an issue,” Mulaney says to the camera. “Harvey I could almost handle, but Epstein – this thing is an albatross.”

Harvey Epstein for New York City Council pic.twitter.com/Qg4RmW29qN
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) November 3, 2024

The inspiration for the joke, the real Epstein, is not related to Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and sex offender who was found dead in his jail cell in 2019. But the combination of that man’s last name with the first name of Harvey Weinstein has made Epstein’s full name something of a punchline, even before the skit.

“When I ran for office in 2018 it was just a regular name, and then this whole thing with both Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein happened, and that kind of changed the trajectory of the name,” Epstein, 57, told the JC. “Not because my name had changed at all, just because these famous people had done horrific things.”

Fortunately, he said his name hasn’t negatively affected him in his political career, and the recent SNL sketch – of which he knew nothing prior to its airing on Saturday night – has only given him a bit more publicity than a state assemblyman might normally expect.

“First of all I was floored, I was shocked. I don’t know if anyone’s done a sketch about your life, but to watch that on national TV was overwhelming initially. But then I was like, ‘Well that’s funny,’” Epstein said. “When you’re in politics you can’t be sensitive to things like this. People are going to make fun of things.”

Epstein, who is running unopposed in his state assembly race, addressed his new followers on X after the sketch aired on Sunday by directing them to donate to a charity helping survivors of sexual assault. “All joking aside, I hope my newfound followers will consider donating to RAINN, who do extremely valuable work supporting survivors,” he wrote.

All joking aside, I hope my newfound followers will consider donating to @RAINN, who do extremely valuable work supporting survivors.https://t.co/QaWBcmJZrn
— Harvey Epstein (@Harvey4council) November 3, 2024

And he’s using his newfound fame to share another important message, one that is also close to his heart as a Jewish person: “What we’ve seen in the last year around the growth of antisemitism has been real and it is a scary thing that’s impacting millions of people,” Epstein said. “You just have to be yourself, and if people don’t like you for who you are, just be who you are anyway.”