'Asked for late-night private meeting when I was 16': What Sevda Rubens has alleged against Deepak Chopra in viral X post

Deepak Chopra faces scrutiny after artist Sevda Rubens alleged he behaved inappropriately when she was 16. The controversy grew with resurfaced emails linking Chopra to Jeffrey Epstein, sparking debate on power, accountability, and safety in wellness communities.

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A wave of online scrutiny has engulfed Deepak Chopra, after an artist’s viral social media post revived uncomfortable questions about power, influence and accountability within global wellness spaces.

The controversy began when Sevda Rubens shared an allegation on X that she was 16 years old when Chopra allegedly behaved inappropriately during a meditation event in Europe. Her post, viewed more than 1.9 million times, surfaced just as Chopra’s name reappeared in newly released emails connected to Jeffrey Epstein, amplifying attention and criticism.

Rubens said the alleged incident left her deeply uncomfortable. She claimed Chopra gave her his personal phone number and suggested meeting privately late at night. She said she declined and walked away unsettled.

“Male gurus are a construct. Smart girls are real,” Rubens wrote, a line that spread rapidly across platforms and became a rallying point for users questioning celebrity-driven spirituality.

In follow up posts, Rubens described her vulnerability at the time. “At 16 I left my parental home, moved into a small attic and worked several jobs to maintain myself,” she wrote. “I had zero stability, no adult oversight.” She added that living alone forced her into constant vigilance. “I remember how instinctively I marked certain men as danger,” she wrote. “Looking back, it’s remarkable I never fell into their hands.”

When I was 16 years old, I attended a meditation event hosted by Deepak Chopra in Europe. After the event, I lined up to ask him a question about my spiritual practice. He gave me his number and insisted to meet later that night. I was alarmed and my intuition warned not to go,… https://t.co/Fcapz9UfDe

— Sevda Rubens (@sevdarubens) February 4, 2026

Many women responded by sharing similar experiences in yoga retreats and meditation circles. One user wrote, “This is why celebrity gurus are dangerous. Power without accountability.”

The backlash intensified after emails involving Chopra and Epstein resurfaced. The messages, exchanged between 2016 and 2019, showed friendly conversations and casual remarks years after Epstein’s earlier conviction. One brief reply from Chopra reading “Good” drew particular criticism for its tone. While the documents do not allege criminal wrongdoing by Chopra, critics argued the exchanges reflected questionable judgement.

Chopra addressed the emails on X, saying his contact with Epstein had been limited and condemning abuse. He expressed regret over the tone of some messages but disabled replies to his post, a move that further fuelled suspicion online.

An Instagram user commented, “This feels like a betrayal of the spiritual community.”

Notably, Chopra has not publicly addressed Rubens’ specific allegation. His silence on that claim has become a central point of debate, with critics asking whether one of the world’s most prominent spiritual figures will respond directly or allow the controversy to fade.

Rubens, who was previously little known outside niche wellness circles, is now at the centre of a wider conversation about safety, consent and unchecked authority in spiritual communities. As screenshots and reposts continue to circulate, pressure is mounting for clearer answers in a space long shaped by reverence rather than accountability.