Podcast host Joe Rogan dismissed as “fake” a sensational sexual-harassment lawsuit against a JPMorgan Chase executive that lit up the internet this week, joking that the lurid claims read like the work of “the horniest guy ever.”
In a clip from his long-running show on Friday, Rogan reacted to noti.group’s exclusive reporting that unmasked Chirayu Rana as the anonymous ‘John Doe’ who accused executive director Lorna Hajdini of sexual assault.
“It runs out that the lady … it was a scam. It was fake. The lady who forced the guy to f–k her at JPMorgan. It wasn’t real,” Rogan said, referencing this outlet’s scoop. “He just claimed that she said all these things.”
Comedian Shane Gillis, his guest, agreed with the top podcaster that Rana’s lawsuit had the feel of fantasy.
“An Indian guy made the claims?” Gillis asked. Rogan replied: “Yep. She was hot. Gillis added: “It reads like a horny Indian guy wrote it.”
The pair also riffed on the suit’s most explicit details, which were first reported by the Daily Mail, during the three-hour podcast published earlier on Friday.
If it was a guy making similar accusations against a woman, Rogan said, “the guy would be fired. He would be shamed”, while SNL regular Gillis suggested jail time for anyone filing a knowingly bogus suit
The exchange came Rana’s extraordinary New York Supreme Court complaint, which accused high-flying Hajdini of turning him into a “sex slave.”
The suit, filed under the name John Doe, alleged Hajdini drugged the man, forced repeated sexual encounters, and threatened his bonus with racist taunts such as “little brown boy.”
It named JPMorgan as a defendant, claiming the bank ignored the misconduct. claims strongly denied by the Jamie Dimon-led lender..
Multiple sources told The Post that JPMorgan’s internal probe — which reviewed emails, records, and devices — found zero evidence of wrongdoing. Hajdini cooperated fully; Rana did not, the bank said.
Colleagues described her as professional and kind, and noted the pair reported to two different managing directors, meaning she had no control over his pay.
Daniel J. Kaiser, a lawyer representing ‘John Doe,’ doubled down on the allegations on Friday.
“A motion was filed today to seek an order to permit my client to proceed by John Doe. Those papers attach corroborating evidence of his claims. And there is much more,” the New York-based attorney wrote.
“Each deal he reported ton (sic) different managers in charge of that deal. He reported to Hadjini (sic),” he added. “Write whatever you want and then be embarrassed.”
Rana’s initial filing was pulled from the docket within hours and listed as “returned for correction.” Kaiser said court clerks had asked for procedural errors to be addressed.
But top Big Apple attorney Jason Goldman said: “Ms. Hajdini’s life has been ruined, and I believe she will file a defamation suit to the fullest extent of the law immediately.”
The Post broke the news earlier on Friday that 35-year-old Rana left his most recent employer, boutique investment firm, Bregal Sagemount three weeks ago.
But sources familiar with the matter have now told this outlet that he also had an ill-fated six-month spell with an affiliate of Marc Rowan’s Apollo Global Management, in Los Angeles.
Rana started with MidCap Financial in June 2023, according to his FINRA profile, before he was “managed out” three months later and put on notice for “straight-up performance issues”, insiders said. A company spokesperson declined to comment.
The ex-JPMorgan banker could not be reached for comment. Hajdini’s representatives and JPMorgan declined additional comment beyond the bank’s earlier denial.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
