Jeffrey Epstein Files Resurface: Prince Andrew Arrested, Elon Musk’s X Under Fire

John Oliver’s latest episode of Last Week Tonight delivered a blistering takedown of two figures entangled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal: disgraced British royal Prince Andrew and tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose ownership of X (formerly Twitter) has transformed the platform into a “sewer of misinformation.”

Prince Andrew’s Latest Legal Trouble

The episode opened with breaking news that shocked the British establishment: Prince Andrew, stripped of his royal titles over his association with Epstein, had been arrested—marking the first time in modern history a senior royal faced such action.

Oliver didn’t mince words about the evidence. Newly released US Justice Department emails allegedly show Andrew sharing confidential government documents, including reports from official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore, plus sensitive investment opportunities in Afghanistan’s Helmand province reconstruction.

“It’s true, they arrested former prince Andrew,” Oliver said, “and I don’t know why they’re still going with ‘alleged’ connections to Epstein there, while also running a photo that makes them look like the two closest friends I’ve ever seen.”

The comedian mocked the royal’s post-arrest appearance, showing Andrew slumped in a car looking “dead or guilty”—a moment that quickly went viral on social media.

Elon Musk’s X: From Social Network to Misinformation Machine

Oliver then pivoted to Musk’s catastrophic stewardship of X, which he purchased for $44 billion in 2022. The comedian recalled Musk’s first day at Twitter headquarters, carrying a sink and posting “let that sink in”—a joke Oliver called “so funny, I’m still laughing right now.”

Since Musk’s takeover, Oliver detailed how the platform has deteriorated:

• Massive layoffs slashed global trust and safety staff by over 50%
• Reduced content moderators allowed white supremacists’ accounts to be reinstated
• Independent studies found algorithmic bias boosting right-wing accounts and Musk’s own tweets
• The platform became “a sewer of misinformation” with “verified” blue checks for sale

“At this point, it seems like there’s one option if you never want to hear anything from Elon Musk, and that’s to be his coolest child,” Oliver joked, referencing Musk’s estranged transgender daughter Vivian Wilson.

Government Dependency on a Poisoned Platform

Perhaps most concerning, Oliver highlighted how deeply the Trump administration relies on X for information and communication:

• JD Vance describes himself as a “Grok guy,” referring to Musk’s controversial AI chatbot
• FBI Director Kash Patel has fumbled investigations by prematurely announcing arrests on X
• A notorious photo of the Venezuela situation room showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth searching “Venezuela” on Twitter
• A White House staffer told The New Yorker: “If we have something that’s popular in right-wing Twitter, the White House is acting on it 90-plus percent of the time”

The Death of Useful Twitter

Oliver concluded with grim assessment: “The Twitter that we may have once relied on and the Twitter that was fun and occasionally useful is just well and truly gone.”

His advice? Stop posting entirely. “For breaking news, it is an active liability, as people routinely push out false information in the wake of tragedies and crises, often for money, and there don’t seem to be many guardrails to stop them.”

The segment ended with Oliver’s final, poisoned phrase: “Collectively, while it might be sad, it might be past time for all of us to, if I may borrow a truly poisoned phrase, let that sink in.”

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