Epstein didn't kill himself

Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender with connections to powerful and wealthy people, and his reported suicide led to numerous hypotheses about the nature and cause of his death.

The most common theory asserts that the true cause of his death was homicide, via strangulation, arranged by one or more co-conspirators to prevent him from revealing any compromising information.

The phrase "Epstein didn't kill himself" is often inserted into unexpected contexts like a photo caption of the painter Bob Ross[1] or at the end of a social media post as a non sequitur.

[13] Both the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general conducted investigations into the circumstances of his death, and the guards on duty were later charged with conspiracy and record falsification.

[19] Epstein's brother, Mark, has rejected the possibility of Jeffrey's suicide, claiming, "I could see if he got a life sentence, I could then see him taking himself out, but he had a bail hearing coming up.

[21] In a press conference about two months after Epstein's death, Bill de Blasio, the then mayor of New York City, declined to endorse chief medical examiner Sampson's conclusions, saying, "Something doesn't fit here.

[23] Seemingly overnight, those last four words, or something close to them, were everywhere: Belted out in videos posted by teenagers to TikTok, the social media platform beloved by Generation Z. Hacked into a roadside traffic sign in Modesto, Calif. Uttered by a University of Alabama student during a live report on MSNBC, hours before the president was set to appear at the school's football game.

At the end of an interview with Jesse Watters on Fox News, former Navy SEAL and founder of the Warrior Dog Foundation Mike Ritland asked if he could give a "PSA".

[30] In his opening monologue at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, host and comedian Ricky Gervais joked that the suicidal character of his show After Life will come back for a second season.

[33][43] In an interview with Slate, independent merchandisers indicated that the Christmas/Epstein product lines were selling comparatively well and cited the mashup's dark humor for its internet popularity.

[2] One specific incident saw the meme painted on a 7-foot-high boulder and visible to travellers on Washington State Route 9 in Snohomish,[2] causing some controversy in the local community.

[8] Federal prosecutors have tried to discourage the spread of the theory, but the Associated Press reported, "[t]he phrase 'Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself' has taken on a life of its own—sometimes more as a pop culture catchphrase than an actual belief.

[49] In an article for Mel Magazine published shortly before the Fox News interview, Miles Klee wrote that there were numerous factors for the meme's rise online; among these included a "simmering resentment" and a lack of justice for Epstein's victims.