Mr. Epstain, a state assemblyman and Democratic candidate for the city council, had no idea how he became an internet sensation within one night following a recent Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch.
One night before going to sleep on Saturday night, Epstein was a low-profile New York State Assemblyman, but one night turned him into an Internet sensation.
Unfortunately, his name is mashed up with two notorious sexual predators, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffery Epstein.
The show’s host, comedian John Mulaney, featured a parody campaign advertisement where he portrayed Epstein.
In the sketch, Mulaney’s character struggles to distance himself from these infamous individuals, stating, “Is my name perfect? Not. I share my name with two of the most infamous sex offenders in history.”
His portrayal included visual gags, such as camping signs reading ” No Relation” and Mulaney’s character emphasizing that he is “a different guy”.
The sketch concluded with a slogan suggesting that “together we can make this city Epstein Island,” which Mulaney humorously downplayed.
The real Herley Epstein, a regular SNL viewer, has no idea that the sketch was planned. He goes to bed before Saturday night, when the show airs, and wakes up on Sunday morning and sees hundreds of messages, telling him to watch.
He said, “So I watched it, and I’m Like, Oh my God, That’s me. It was hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
He also added throughout his political career many people asked him if he related to Jerry Epstein, a financier who had registered as a sex offender and charged with sex trafficking, although he was found in a jail cell in Manhattan in 2019 and his death was ruled a suicide.
In the sudden wake-up publicity over the sketch, Hervey Epstein encourages people to survive sexual assaults.
In a post on X on Sunday, he wrote, ” All joking aside, I hope my newfound followers will consider donating to RAINN, who do extremely valuable work supporting survivors.”
He said he earned 400 followers in the one-night momentum that he seized upon in a post sharing the sketch with a link to his council campaign donations page.
Epstein also said, I’m 57 years old; I’ve been Hervey Epstein my whole life. I have a really lovely reputation in the neighbourhood, and people know me for who I am.”
He represented his district since 2018 and is now running a crowded primary to replace Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who is term-limited.
He also assures he will use his higher profile to drive home the issues at the core of his platforms, including tenants’ rights.
