The man known online as “Palm Beach Pete” is finally speaking out—and he’s making it crystal clear where he stands.
In a newly created Instagram account, the Florida resident, identified simply as Peter, addressed the viral speculation head-on, telling viewers: “I’m so not Jeffrey Epstein. I’m just me being me…he’s a very bad person. And he is dead.”
The video, shared on March 20, is the first time the lookalike has spoken out since clips of him cruising in a convertible through South Florida blew up online.
In the clip, Pete plays into the bizarre attention, casually walking viewers through his day—“I’m gonna play some tennis… go into town, and have lunch”—while repeatedly making it clear he has zero ties to Epstein.
He also gave a shoutout to those who shut down the rumors, calling the whole situation “a crazy phenomenon that has went really viral.”
Pete went deeper during an appearance on The Nicky Gordo Show, opening up about how quickly everything spiraled.
“I’m minding my own business driving down to a place in town,” he said, “and the next thing you know, hundreds of millions of views.”
While he admitted there’s a resemblance, he brushed off the theories, blaming it on people’s “vivid imaginations.”
The comparisons started after a viral clip showed Pete—rocking a backward white cap and sunglasses—driving a convertible along I-95. Social media users quickly linked his look to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier whose 2019 death in federal custody continues to spark public fascination. That’s how the nickname “Palm Beach Pete” took off across the internet.
Addressing it head-on, Pete made it clear he wants no association with Epstein. “I could be the guy, but I’m not the guy,” he said on the podcast, adding that he has “nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein” and calling him “such a vile human being.”
The renewed buzz comes amid ongoing online conversations about Epstein, whose death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner and later upheld by federal investigations.
