Stephen King speaks out to clarify meaning of bizarre 'Epstein list' statement that sparked backlash

Stephen King has clarified the meaning behind the unusual post he made over Jeffrey Epstein's rumored client list.

On Tuesday (July 15), the popular horror author took to X, formerly Twitter, to essentially question the existence of the document.

It comes as Donald Trump's administration suddenly decided not to release the much-talked-about Epstein documents.

Multi-millionaire Epstein had mingled with some of the most powerful people in the world - but he was eventually exposed for sex trafficking underage girls.

He dodged jail time back in 2008 with a plea deal that still raises eyebrows, then got arrested again in July 2019 on fresh federal charges. Just days later, he was found dead while on 'suicide watch' in his Manhattan jail cell - ruled a suicide by officials.

Rumors have swirled for years about a secret client list naming wealthy and influential figures connected to Epstein's crimes.

But last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ flat-out denied the existence of such list, and said they won’t be releasing any more records - despite Trump’s repeated promises to do exactly that during his 2024 campaign.

Anyway, amid the controversy, King posted to X: "The Epstein client list is real. So is the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus."

The post went viral, having been viewed some 21 million times at the time of writing.

Naturally, it caused a stir; people thought King - an outspoken Trump critic - was siding with the US president - and over Epstein, of all matters? It was a bit of a shock.

Yet others, taking the discussion to Reddit, reckoned they knew what King was really trying to say; that the list didn't exist and Trump was simply using it as a way to win the election.

Some nine hours after the original post, King returned to clarify exactly what he meant by the somewhat ominous post. And turns out, the Redditors were right.

"Boy, I hit a nerve with that Epstein post," he began, with a rolling on the floor laughing emoji.

"The 'list' is like UFOs: Everyone knows someone who’s seen one," King added, with another laughing emoji for good measure.

As ever with the relentless world of social media, some people still weren't satisfied - either that, or they couldn't read between the lines.

His replies were soon swamped with angry comments, as people urged King to explain himself and wondered if he was outright denying Epstein’s crimes.

King seemingly made his stance on Epstein pretty clear back in 2019, after someone on Twitter noted how odd it was for Epstein to die 'by suicide' while under suicide watch.

King had shot back: "A lot of powerful people are breathing sighs of relief over Epstein’s 'suicide'."

What has Trump said about the Epstein files?

Taking to Truth Social amid all the recent Epstein noise, Trump decided to hit out at previous administrations: "For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.

"Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration."

Yet, there were a number of instances where Trump or his colleagues declared the government would publish these elusive files.

In January 2024, Bondi hit out at a federal judge’s release of unsealed court documents about Epstein.

"It should have come out a long time ago," she told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "If people in that report are still fighting to keep their names private, Sean, they have no legal basis to do so unless they're a child, a victim or a cooperating defendant."

In February 2025, she once again told Fox News that releasing the files was a 'directive by President Trump', and that 'it’s sitting on my desk right now to review' before publicly handing over 'phase one' of heavily redacted documents.

In October 2024, then-vice-presidential candidate JD Vance was a guest on comedian Theo Von's podcast.

Speak of Trump's pledge, he said: "We need to release the Epstein list,” while Politifact notes that Trump 'shared multiple times during the 2024 campaign that he would ‘probably’ declassify Epstein files if elected.'

A Financial Times analysis similarly reports that Trump made a 'campaign promise to release the so-called Epstein files', a pledge his supporters still cite as late as July 2025 when the administration declined to publish any additional documents.