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A man living in Kayseri, central Türkiye, says his everyday life has been negatively affected after being repeatedly compared to the late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, whose name remains globally associated with sexual abuse allegations and controversy.
Rifat Ozdemir, a 55-year-old resident of Kayseri, has drawn public attention not because of his actions, but because of his physical resemblance to Epstein, the billionaire who died in a U.S. prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and child sexual abuse charges.
Ozdemir said the comparison began within his own family, when a nephew pointed out the similarity and mentioned Epstein by name.
At the time, Ozdemir explained, he had no idea who Epstein was and only later looked him up through news reports and social media.
Once the resemblance became known, Ozdemir said he began to notice changes in how people looked at him in public spaces.
Although he stressed that no one had verbally insulted him or confronted him directly, he described the looks he received as harsh and judgmental, adding that people sometimes pointed him out in surprised tones while mentioning Epstein’s name.
Ozdemir underlined that being likened to Epstein was deeply upsetting, noting that Epstein was not someone anyone would want to resemble.
He described himself instead as an ordinary citizen focused on his work and daily responsibilities and said the situation had created an unfair image around him.
According to Ozdemir, the resemblance was an unfortunate coincidence that had begun to weigh on him emotionally, especially when walking down the street and feeling the silent reactions of strangers.
He also made a direct appeal to the public, asking people not to compare him to Epstein anymore.
Emphasizing that he was not the disgraced financier, Ozdemir said such associations had nothing to do with who he really was or how he lived his life.
In an effort to distance himself from the unwanted likeness, Ozdemir said he was considering visible changes to his appearance.
He explained that he planned to change his hairstyle and even grow a beard, something he had never done before and did not particularly like, but felt might help until the issue faded from public attention.
He acknowledged that facial features such as wrinkles were harder to change, yet said he would do whatever he could to move away from the resemblance.
Ozdemir also highlighted that, despite the discomfort, the reactions had remained limited to looks rather than words. Still, he said he could sense what people were thinking from their expressions.
Ending his remarks, he stressed that he was not Epstein and added that Kayseri should not be associated with figures known for such crimes.
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