Anne Heche name surfaces in viral Ellen DeGeneres 'cannibal' claims, fact checks find no evidence
Online posts have tied anne heche’s death to a wave of "cannibal" allegations aimed at Ellen DeGeneres after newly released Jeffrey Epstein-related documents circulated, but fact checks and searches of the released files found no evidence linking DeGeneres to cannibalism.
How the files and rumors spread
As the U. S. Department of Justice released millions of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, social posts on X, Threads and TikTok amplified claims that the files contained proof of cannibalism involving celebrities. One viral post asserted that the documents showed DeGeneres was a "prolific cannibal" and suggested she left the United States because of those allegations. Those claims have been rated false by public fact checks of the files.
What the document reviews actually found
Fact checks examined every mention of DeGeneres in the released material and found her name mainly in media items about other celebrities and in compilations of tweets from her old talk show that had been sent to Epstein by Twitter. A redacted email in the collection quoted a college graduation speech DeGeneres reportedly delivered. Her name also appeared in an Apple News newsletter item in which she addressed misconduct allegations on her show, and a forwarded email from Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal described seeing DeGeneres dancing at a party on the island of St. Barts. Reviewers emphasized that mere mention in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing.
Anne Heche's death and the official record
The wild claim that DeGeneres "ate" Anne Heche originated on a conspiracy site called "The People's Voice, " which published a sensational post tying the newly discussed files to extreme crimes. The narrative spread on social platforms, but public-facing fact checks say there is no verified support in any public court record, official investigative finding, or credible reporting related to Jeffrey Epstein that ties DeGeneres to cannibalism. anne heche's death was ruled an accident in 2022 by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, which listed smoke inhalation and thermal injuries as the cause and noted a sternal fracture from blunt trauma as a significant condition. The files and the conspiracy post do not supply evidence to alter that official record.
Dark mentions in the files were unrelated and limited
Reviewers of the document dump found references to the words "cannibal" and "cannibalism" in the material, but the occurrences were sparse and often duplicative. One search of the dataset returned 52 instances of the word "cannibal" and six instances of "cannibalism, " many repeated entries; none of the matches named DeGeneres. The isolated mentions appeared in items such as media digests, an academic syllabus, a transcript of a conversation between Epstein and a man named "Richard, " and an email about jerky and a "restaurant called Cannibal. " Earlier reviews of the files also flagged references to "ritualistic sacrifice, " but those references have not substantiated the online conspiracies.
Other names and odd entries pulled from the files
The newly released collections included a wide variety of material beyond the lurid snippets seized on by social platforms. The dataset contained notes showing that Rubenstein and fellow private-equity billionaire Mike Arougheti spearheaded a purchase of the Orioles in 2024, buying the team from the Angelos family. A separate set of emails showed that Tisch's name came up in hundreds of messages in the latest dataset. The files also included everyday items such as a newsletter blurb titled "The Yodel, " guidance on how to get tickets to an NHL game, and promotional chatter: Matt Harmon and Justin Boone were listed as broadcasting live from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, with Boone revealing his five favorite sleeper prospects ahead of the 2026 fantasy season and Connor Rogers slated to answer big fantasy questions heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
Leonardo DiCaprio's name also resurfaced in parts of the material, and social posts pushed that linkage to similarly extreme claims; experts reviewing the appearances of his name in the documents have warned that inclusion in the files does not imply wrongdoing. The People's Voice article that appears to have fueled much of the recent wave provided no verifiable evidence that could be checked against official records.
Public-facing fact checks and document searches continue to comb the DOJ's Epstein files, and a fact-check published on Feb. 4, 2026, is among the reviews already available. Until new, verifiable evidence emerges that can be matched to official records, the cannibalism claims connecting Ellen DeGeneres to any crime — including the allegation that she killed or "ate" Anne Heche — remain unproven and contradicted by the coroner's findings in Heche's 2022 death.
