“This is beyond silly,” the controversial literary figure wrote.

J.K. Rowling denies she invited Jeffrey Epstein to *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child *opening

"This is beyond silly," the controversial literary figure wrote.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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February 4, 2026 1:47 p.m. ET

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J.K. Rowling attends 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' premiere on March 29, 2022. Credit:

Mike Marsland/WireImage

J.K. Rowling took to social media on Monday to defend herself against critics alleging she invited Jeffrey Epstein to a 2018 event.

"This is beyond silly. Neither I, nor anybody on my team, ever met, communicated with or invited Jeffrey Epstein to anything," Rowling wrote on X, responding to a comment claiming the author was "sending invitations to Epstein 10 years after he was convicted."

Speculation began circulating online after Rowling's name appeared in the latest batch of the Epstein files released by the DoJ. The controversial *Harry Potter *creator was mentioned in a correspondence between Peggy Siegal — publicist and Epstein's longtime associate — and Colin Callender — boss of theatre production company Playground Entertainment. In the conversation, Siegal was aiming to score an invitation for Epstein to *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child*'s official Broadway opening in New York City on April 22, 2018.

J. K. Rowling attends day four of Royal Ascot on June 20, 2025.

Chris Jackson/Getty

Siegal reached out to Callender, saying a "very important friend" wanted to "come see the spectacle," though she did not name the disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender in her message.

Callender told Siegal he would "get him in," but told *Deadline* that he was "never made aware of Epstein's identity," since Siegal never named Epstein in her messages before he sent her over to a member of his team.

As the email chain reveals, while Epstein was sent the tickets, he claimed he "could't get in" as his name was not on the guest list. "No biggy but thought you should know," he added.

Siegal emailed Playground to complain that the incident was "terribly upsetting" and she was "incredibly embarrassed." She demanded an "apology note," though Callender told *Deadline* that no one at Playground said sorry.**

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The slow release of millions of documents related to convicted child sex offender Epstein has sparked a wave of commentary from the public and celebrities alike. Numerous public figures have been named in the files connected to the financier who died in prison in 2019 while serving time for his crimes.

Jon Stewart explains why his name is in the Epstein files

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On Wednesday, *The View* cohosts called out the powerful people named in the documents whom they alleged protected other powerful people from being exposed before the release of the files.

"Not only did they protect each other, but we were complicit in all of this. We are complicit," Whoopi Goldberg asserted. "Women didn't say, 'Hey, don't do that. Don't stand up for that.' Women did not stand up for other women. Women saw what was going on and didn't say, 'Stop this.' They didn't come out and say this was going on."

Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin on 'The View'.

Sunny Hostin pointed to Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell — also currently in prison over her role in Epstein's dealings — as an example of a woman whose actions support Goldberg's point.

But the hosts also praised the women leading the charge for justice for Epstein's multiple victims, including Bill Gates' ex-wife, Melinda Gates.

"They're standing up where other women are not, and that's the point here. Everybody has to take some responsibility for this, because unless you recognize what it meant, what they did to these girls, you're not going to care," Goldberg stressed. "It's important that you recognize what's going on here."**

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