New York politician Harvey Epstein reacts to John Mulaney's “SNL” ad

Veteran New York local politician Harvey Epstein was thrust into the national spotlight last night by NBC Saturday Night Live ran a mock ad for his City Council campaign that highlighted his name and combined the names of two convicted sex offenders, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.

Host John Mulaney portrayed Epstein in the ad, which you can see above, and tackled the issue head-on.

“Listen, is my name ideal? Of course not,” he says into the camera. “I share names with two of the most notorious perverts of all time. Do you think I don’t know that?”

He then goes on to emphasize that he is not related to any of his infamous namesakes, as the distinction seems to be lost on voters who, in testimonials, say things like, “He's got my vote, everyone deserves a second chance.” “It's cool “That he knows a lot of famous people” and “He would be great for the economy.” Do I want him to run our schools? Probably not.”

Mulaney's Epstein responds to each of these questions, growing increasingly exasperated as he repeatedly insists that he's “a different guy” who “loves your kids, and not in a creepy way.”

The ad ends with the slogan “Harvey Epstein for City Council.” Because together we can make this city Epstein’s island.”

Mulaney's Epstein quickly pipes up for a final word: “Maybe let's not call it that.” (Epstein Island is, along with Pedophile Island and Orgy Island, one of the nicknames used for Jeffrey Epstein's former private island because it is accused of being involved in a sex trafficking ring to be involved.)

The real Epstein agrees. He tweeted this on Sunday morning SNL Sketch with a note: “I agree with John Mulaney…let's not call it Epstein's Island.”

He reiterated his opinion in a subsequent tweet SNL The lookalike distanced himself from Harvey Weinsetin and Jeffrey Epstein and left “all jokes aside” to ask his “newfound followers” to consider donating to Rainn, an organization that helps survivors of sexual assault.

As the fake ad states, Epstein is a member of the District 74 Assembly and is running for City Council in District 2. He has been an assemblyman since 2018 and previously served on Ward 3 for 14 years.