Culture

Foster The People Are Convinced They Know The ‘Truth’ About Jeffrey Epstein’s Death

"You're scared of what I'm saying."

by Jared Richards  13 August 2019
Foster The People keep tweeting about Jeffrey Epstein

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Foster The People, the indie trio best known for 2010 hit ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, are throwing their weight behind conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide. On Twitter, they’re breaking down why they believe he’s still alive, while defending their right to speak up about what they consider an obvious government cover up.

— This article involves discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. — 

The band are far from the only people who are suspicious of Epstein’s death; almost as soon as it was reported he had been found dead on Saturday 9 August in a jail cell — where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges — #EpsteinSuicideCoverUp and #EpsteinBodyDouble trended on Twitter.

A wide-spread refusal to accept Epstein’s death as a suicide received mainstream and bi-partisan support, as alt-right and non-batshit figures believe the timing to be just too convenient, as it’s been alleged that Epstein ran a child-sex ring for the wealthy and would reveal details in his pending trial.

Figures known to have a relationship to Epstein include US President Donald Trump, Hillary and Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew — prompting many, including prominent journalists, to believe the suicide was an assassination co-signed by many of the rich and powerful. Meanwhile, President Trump is tweeting that the Clintons are involved, and Democratic president hopefuls are demanding an inquest.

Enter Foster The People, who joined the fray on Sunday by tweeting that circulating photos of Epstein’s body are “obviously not him”, and that they’re guessing he’s “on a private plane to somewhere in the Middle East getting prepped for plastic surgery right now”.

This tweet, unexpectedly, did the rounds. It somehow captured the moment — even that indie-band best known for a 2011 smash hit covertly about a school shooting is so bewildered that they’re throwing out theories to their near-million followers.

The day later, the band — the account seemingly run by frontman Mark Foster — doubled-down, comparing images of Epstein alive and dead, and calling out news outlets who made fun of his original tweet.

Foster continued by defending his right to tweet, saying it was his job as an artist to speak up about “social issues, cover-ups, and justice”.

“More than ever artists need to speak up, because they’re not getting paid by sponsors or told how to spin a story by their bosses,” he wrote. “Rupert Murdoch isn’t controlling their narrative. support your artists. support real journalism. fact check everything. do your own research.”

Foster has continued today, though signed off by saying he “is not sorry for blowing up your time line with a non-music related topic”. “‘Staying in your lane’ doesn’t apply to injustice on this scale,” he wrote. “That’s all. i’m gonna go back to writing escapist songs so i don’t continue to wallow in the pure evil of this. it’s too dark.”

Read Foster The People’s full thread below.

If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.