Deepak Chopra

Publicly released documents and messages show that Chopra exchanged communications with Jeffrey Epstein and visited him on several occasions after Epstein's earlier conviction, including at his residences. Certain messages in a familiar tone prompted strong public reaction and calls for accountability in New Age circles.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

no_accusation_of_criminal_wrongdoing_related_to_Epstein

Attribution

Directly implicated

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist is the victim

Chopra's books and lectures connect consciousness, healing and concepts drawn from quantum physics. Physicists and pseudoscience specialists criticise this usage as lacking any demonstrated scientific mechanism. Chopra himself explained that “quantum” was used metaphorically in part of his work.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Directly implicated

Asked years later about earlier remarks concerning AIDS, Chopra acknowledged that he may have said accepting a diagnosis as a sentence could reinforce a self-fulfilling prophecy. In 2019, he said that if he had expressed it in those terms, he regretted it.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Personally implicated

An extensive New Yorker interview confronted Chopra with earlier statements about disease, cancer, AIDS and longevity, as well as his commercialisation of wellness. He qualified certain remarks, expressed regret concerning AIDS and emphasised that his recommendations did not replace conventional medicine.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Personally implicated

The Chopra Center published content such as “Healing Cancer Through Mind-Body Medicine” and videos about restoring wholeness in the face of cancer. Scientific critics saw ambiguity between stress reduction and therapeutic promises. Chopra stated that he had never claimed meditation cured cancer and had promotional material removed because he considered it excessive.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Chopra received a satirical Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for his interpretation of the role of quantum physics in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, becoming an enduring symbol of criticism of his metaphorical or pseudoscientific use of the word “quantum”.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Weekly Standard published an article insinuating a relationship with a prostitute. Chopra brought a 35 million dollar lawsuit. The woman concerned subsequently retracted her account, and the magazine reached a settlement including a retraction, apology and payment of legal fees.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

A JAMA article presenting Ayurvedic medicine triggered a prolonged controversy. JAMA subsequently published clarifications and criticisms concerning, in particular, commercial interests linked to Ayurvedic products and clinics and how these relationships had been disclosed.

State of the evidence

Documented

Following JAMA's critical publications, Chopra and other claimants sought approximately 194 million dollars for defamation and harm. The action was dismissed, while the scientific and editorial conflict continued publicly.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

In Creating Health and his public statements at the time, Chopra highlighted cases of remission which he associated with thoughts, attitudes and mind–body balance. A Los Angeles Times review criticised the book for drawing causal conclusions from subjective cases and downplaying cancer's medical complexity.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Directly implicated