NEW YORK — At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.

The missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Justice Department did not say why the files were removed or whether their disappearance was intentional. A spokesperson for the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Online, the unexplained missing files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding long-standing intrigue about Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.

Scant new insight in the initial disclosures

Some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.

Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.

The gaps go further.

The records, required to be released under a recent law passed by Congress, hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not, and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountability

Among the fresh nuggets: insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to that state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.

The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.

There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.

Despite a Friday deadline set by Congress to make everything public, the Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.

That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the law forced the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them.

“I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.

Many of the long-anticipated records were redacted or lacked context

Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

The documents just made public were a sliver of potentially millions of pages records in the department’s possession. In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.

Many of the records released so far had been made public in court filings, congressional releases or freedom of information requests, though, for the first time, they were all in one place and available for the public to search for free.

Ones that were new were often lacking necessary context or heavily blacked out. A 119-page document marked “Grand Jury-NY,” likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.

Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, including photos of the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions and was no explanation given for why any of them were together.

The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007 yet never charged him.

Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.

One had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage.

Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.

“For every girl that I brought to the table he would give me $200,” she said. They were mostly people she knew from high school, she said. “I also told them that if they are under age, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.”

The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers did more than a decade later with the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges.

Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.

Related Articles

Today in History: December 20, Howard Beach racial murder

Implosion takes down a nearly century-old Mississippi River bridge

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recovers $55 billion pay package in Delaware court ruling

A California fisherman may have broken records by catching a 10.25-pound canary rockfish

What’s inside the released files on Jeffrey Epstein

He also said the Justice Department might have been more reluctant to make a federal prosecution out of a case that straddled the legal border between sex trafficking and soliciting prostitution, something more commonly handled by state prosecutors.

“I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta added. He also said that the public today would likely view the survivors differently.

“There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,” Acosta said.

Jennifer Freeman, an attorney representing Epstein accuser Maria Farmer, on Saturday said her client feels vindicated after the document release. Farmer sought for years documents backing up her claim that Epstein and Maxwell were in possession of child sexual abuse images.

“It’s a triumph and a tragedy,” she said. “It looks like the government did absolutely nothing. Horrible things have happened and if they investigated in even the smallest way, they could have stopped him.”

Associated Press journalists Ali Swenson, Christopher L. Keller, Kristin M. Hall, Aaron Kessler and Mike Catalini contributed to this report.

With reports of immigrants detained and pop-up protests across the Twin Cities, some suburban police departments are taking the initiative to explain the roles they play — and do not play — in federal immigration operations.

St. Paul and Minneapolis both passed separation ordinances years ago, spelling out that local employees, including police, are not in the business of enforcing federal immigration law.

After Immigration and Customs Enforcement made the Twin Cities the focus of its Operation Metro Surge this month, several suburbs shared statements to address their own policies.

Their message: City-appointed officers will not be involved with ICE operations unless the arrest involves someone accused of crimes in their jurisdictions. They’re emphasizing that no community member, whether a citizen or not, should be afraid to call 911 or cooperate with local investigations.

Operation Metro Surge

ICE’s stepped-up enforcement operations in Minnesota began on Dec. 1, with reportedly at least 100 federal officers from out of state.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release last Friday that ICE agents had arrested more than 400 undocumented immigrants in Minnesota since the operation began.

According to DHS, the operation targets “criminal illegal aliens” with prior convictions for serious crimes such as sexual assault, domestic violence and gang affiliation, as well as individuals with final deportation orders.

Although DHS has not released a complete list of those arrested, the agency has said they’ve included “pedophiles, rapists and violent thugs” who were “allowed to roam Minnesota’s streets thanks to sanctuary policies.”

While initially focused on Minneapolis and St. Paul, the operation has expanded into suburbs such as Burnsville, Brooklyn Park and Chanhassen, according to media reports.

Burnsville incident

State Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, said she was “horrified” by reports that masked agents have detained the parents of young children, leaving them without the care of their parents.

Port was referring to a Dec. 6 case that made the news involving the arrests of two parents at a Burnsville home. ICE agents left behind a 7-year-old to be cared for by others, KARE-TV reported.

“I am horrified at the recent actions by federal law enforcement agents in Burnsville and across Minnesota,” Port said in a statement. “The videos of masked federal agents aiming guns at crowds and forcing their way into homes are scenes from a dystopia. This is no way to make our communities safe.”

The city of Burnsville said in a statement that it is actively monitoring federal immigration activity in the city.

Related Articles

St. Paul man gets 15-year prison term for raping Wisconsin woman he met on dating app

Ex-Hudson teacher gets 6-year prison sentence for sexual misconduct with 11-year-old student

New law inspired by fallen St. Paul fire captain will expand first responder benefits nationwide

St. Paul: 2 siblings charged in fatal Payne-Phalen shooting

‘Industrial-scale’ MN fraud may have cost billions, feds say in announcing new charges

“Burnsville Police do not engage in federal immigration enforcement and are typically not notified of federal operations,” the statement reads. “Burnsville police officers enforce only state and local laws. Burnsville Police do not check someone’s immigration status. Our role is to keep everyone in our community safe.”

The statement continued that residents and community members should never hesitate to call 911, regardless of their immigration status. It also stated that officers may respond to gatherings or related protests that occur “to ensure safety for everyone present.”

Other cities have issued statements in response to ICE activity or citizen concerns. What follows is a sampling of east metro statements.

Woodbury statement

Woodbury community members have reported concerns about recent ICE activity in the city, according to Public Safety Director and Police Chief Jason Posel.

“Woodbury Public Safety was not aware of this activity and does not proactively work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the department said in a statement. “We do not inquire about immigration status, nor do we enforce federal immigration law. Our goal is for everyone to feel safe interacting with our officers and comfortable calling 911 in an emergency.”

The statement went on to express that the city understands ICE activity can create stress among community members, especially immigrants, and that Woodbury is “committed to being a welcoming and inclusive community.”

“To our Somali residents and all members of our immigrant communities: you are valued, and your safety and well-being remain a priority,” the statement continued.

Stillwater statement

Stillwater officials issued a statement Wednesday afternoon on social media after citizens at Tuesday’s city council meeting asked them to address the potential for ICE activity in the city.

“Recent federal immigration enforcement activity in our region has understandably caused fear and uncertainty for some members of our community, particularly among our immigrant neighbors,” city officials said in the statement. “We want to share some important information and provide reassurance.”

Police officers do not enforce federal immigration law, the post states. Federal immigration enforcement decisions are made at the federal level and are outside the city’s control, according to the post.

Stillwater police officers do not ask about immigration status and do not conduct immigration enforcement, the post states. “We want everyone to feel safe calling 911, reporting a crime, or asking for help in an emergency,” according to the statement.

The Stillwater Police Department does not detain a person solely based on federal civil immigration violations, and the Stillwater City Council is not considering a cooperative agreement with ICE, according to the post.

“Should federal enforcement activity occur in Stillwater, the city’s priority would be the safety of everyone involved, maintaining calm, and reducing the risk of harm,” the post states. “Local police would be present only to support de-escalation and public safety.”

Rosemount statement

The city of Rosemount shared in a statement that it is committed to “protecting and serving all of our residents. Regardless of how long you’ve called Rosemount home.”

The Rosemount Police Department stated that they enforce state and local laws, not federal laws.

“If federal immigration enforcement were to arrive in Rosemount, our officers would not play an active role,” the city said in a statement. “However, they may respond to ensure physical safety near the scene, including the safety of neighbors or spectators.”

Rosemount officers will not ask about the immigration status of community members, or provide information “to anyone attempting to identify an immigration violation, or detain a person solely for a federal immigration violation,” the statement said.

Residents are encouraged to contact law enforcement as necessary, regardless of their immigration status.

Attorney general opinion

Related Articles

New law inspired by fallen St. Paul fire captain will expand first responder benefits nationwide

Newport Recycling & Energy Center to medical facilities: Enough with the infectious waste

Man dies after he’s found on second floor of St. Paul house fire

ACLU of Minnesota sues ICE, alleging it violated rights of observers

St. Paul: Mayor Melvin Carter, Russ Stark, Fire Chief Inks honored

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office also has weighed in with a recent opinion concerning 287(g) agreements, which are agreements that state and local governments can enter into with ICE authorizing state or local law enforcement officers to perform certain immigration duties.

According to the attorney general’s office, county sheriffs are not able to enter into 287(g) agreements themselves; the authority to enter into 287(g) agreements rests with the county board of commissioners rather than with sheriffs.

Sheriffs also may not detain immigrants “solely on the basis of a civil ICE detainer request if state law does not otherwise authorize law enforcement to detain them.”

By LINDSEY BAHR and JAKE COYLE

The bean counters might say otherwise, but 2025 was a good year for movies.

Related Articles

Movie review: ‘The Housemaid’ a trashy treat for holiday season

‘Sinners,’ ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ advance in Oscars shortlists

‘Popcorn Disabilities’ author Kristen Lopez looks at disability portrayals in movies

Rob Reiner: 14 movies and shows to stream

Watch five memorable ads from the Walker’s British Arrows Awards — including one with Anthony Edwards

Filmmakers working in and out of the studio system managed to make bold, personal, wildly imaginative and singular works. Some of them even broke through to the mainstream — how extraordinary that “Sinners” is among the highest earning of the year in North America, alongside all those “safe” sequels, reboots and known brands? Most, however, are more likely destined for cult classic status.

Hollywood as we know it is undergoing seismic changes, with yet another studio, Warner Bros., staring down a possible merger. This an industry that’s always under threat, though, and always seems to figure something out. If anything, 2025 was also a year in which audiences showed that they still crave the theatrical experience, whether it was to shout “chicken jockey” at the screen or, despite all logic and polling otherwise, help “KPop Demon Hunters” unofficially top the box office charts two months after hitting Netflix.

More than a few greats were woefully underseen as well. But in a year which also saw the deaths of cinema icons like David Lynch, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Gene Hackman, it’s good to remember that box office and awards are just temporary measurements. The films are the things that last.

Here are The Associated Press’ Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle’s picks for the best movies of 2025:

Lindsey Bahr’s top movies of 2025

1. “One Battle After Another”

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Teyana Taylor in a scene from “One Battle After Another.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Paul Thomas Anderson took us on ride of the year with “One Battle After Another,” which is so many things — a clever farce, a frenetic thrill ride, a poignant drama about single parenting, a buddy comedy — it’s nearly impossible to describe compellingly or coherently. The performances are excellent from lead to smallest supporting character, the vision is ambitious and singular, and the payoff is a great time and a reminder of an experience that can only really happen at the movies. (In theaters)

2. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”

Mary Bronstein turned her own domestic nightmare into a raw and surreal cinematic expression of maternal exhaustion and madness in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” Anchored by an utterly fearless performance from Rose Byrne, Bronstein’s film is an exposed nerve come to life, existential dread manifested. Plus Conan O’Brien and A$AP Rocky. (Available for digital rental)

3. “Marty Supreme”

Great filmmakers can make anything exciting, like, say, the adventures of a broke table tennis player, and true SOB Marty Mauser, in mid-century New York. Josh Safdie and his cowriter and editor Ronald Bronstein (Mary’s husband) built an enormously entertaining, white-knuckle spectacle of ambition and ego giving us the defining Timothée Chalamet performance we’ve been waiting for. (In theaters Dec. 25)

4. “Sentimental Value”

The ghosts of the past and things unsaid linger in cracks and floorboards of the quiet home at the heart of Joachim Trier’s latest, a textured and mature portrait of family, grief, forgiveness and the loneliness of a life in the arts. With a moving turn from Stellan Skarsgård as an acclaimed filmmaker trying to reconnect with the daughters he cast aside for his career, it’s also surprisingly funny in its deft exploration of how difficult it can be to express love to those who matter most, even for artists. (In theaters)

5. “The Naked Gun”

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Liam Neeson in a scene from “The Naked Gun.” (Frank Masi/Paramount Pictures via AP)

Finally, a great studio comedy and in the most unlikely of packages: A self-consciously shameless reboot/sequel/remake that stands on its own through Akiva Schaffer’s total commitment to absolute silliness. Only “Hamnet” elicited more tears. (Streaming on Paramount+)

6. “Sinners”

Another deeply personal, go-for-broke film that (in this case) only Ryan Coogler could have made, “Sinners” is the bluesy, vampire, gangster musical we never knew we needed. Vibrantly filmed and told, with an extraordinary ensemble cast (and two Michael B. Jordans), its surface pleasures alone are worth celebrating, but every frame is also imbued with history and symbolism adding up to one of the most profound and original thrillers to grace our movie screens. (Streaming on HBO Max)

7. “Sound of Falling”

Past and present also blur in Mascha Schilinski’s haunting and ethereal second feature. It’s both disorienting and transfixing in telling the stories of four young women, in four different times, on the same North German farm, somehow both coming-of-age and ghost story at once. (Wide release in theaters Jan. 16)

8. “It Was Just an Accident”

Tense, devastating and even a darkly funny, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi sets up an enthralling moral conundrum in his first film since his own imprisonment. What does justice look like after imprisonment and torture? What should they do to the man who did it? How can they be sure they even have the right guy? (In theaters)

9. “The Voice of Hind Rajab”

Kaouther Ben Hania also confronted modern atrocities using the language of cinematic storytelling, and the real audio of a young girl’s call for help, in “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a shattering document of the Israel-Hamas war, set entirely inside the dispatch center of the Palestine Red Crescent Society rescue service. (In theaters Dec. 17)

10. “Urchin,” “The Chronology of Water” and “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight”

Three wonderful films this year came from familiar faces, all making their feature debuts. Harris Dickinson channeled the social realism of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh to tell a compassionate but clear-eyed story about the cycles of homelessness in “Urchin.” Kristen Stewart proved to be as bold behind the camera as she is in front of it with “The Chronology of Water,” an utterly electric and alive memory piece of trauma and inspiration. And Embeth Davidtz, drawing on her own experience, confronted a thorny story about the Rhodesian bush war fearlessly and with grace. (“Urchin” is available to rent or buy. “The Chronology of Water” is in select theaters this week, expanding in January. “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” is available to rent or buy.)

Also: “Hedda,” “My Father’s Shadow,” “The Secret Agent,” “The Testament of Ann Lee,” “Blue Moon,” “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” “The Mastermind,” “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” “Splitsville,” “Sorry, Baby,” “Presence,” “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”

Jake Coyle’s top movies of 2025

1. “One Battle After Another”

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from “One Battle After Another.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

For a movie that feels so enthrallingly of the moment, Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest is curiously out of time. The echoes of the Black Panther and Weather Underground movements seem to belong to another era. Yet Anderson’s scruffy opus makes its own history and its own resistance. Key, I think, is that both the forces of oppression and counterculture in the film are lost in rituals and code words. It’s about finding your own grammar of struggle. And it’s also about how unstoppable Teyana Taylor is. (In theaters)

2. “No Other Choice”

In Park Chan-wook’s masterful, midnight-black comedy, a newly out-of-work man (Lee Byung-hun) decides his best option to get a leg up on similarly qualified job applicants is to kill them, one by one. It’s an ingenious narrative (from Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel, previously adapted by Costa-Gavras) that Park extrapolates in increasingly profound ways. Park, the Korean director of “Oldboy” and “Decision to Leave,” remains at the height of his diabolical powers. (In theaters Dec. 25)

3. “It Was Just an Accident”

Jafar Panahi has made a lot of great films, many of them in extraordinary circumstances. All of them, despite the hardships they document and exist in, are also playful and entertaining. So see his latest not just because it’s an important Iranian film, shot through with pain and fury, and made by one of the most courageous filmmakers on the planet, but because it’s gripping and funny and human. (In theaters)

4. “Marty Supreme”

This image released by A24 shows Timothée Chalamet in a scene from “Marty Supreme.” (A24 via AP)

The annals of great New York movies have a new one. Josh Safdie’s picaresque pingpong epic, starring Timothée Chalamet as a tireless striver, is the giddiest, most breathless movie of the year. And I’m not just saying that in the hope that a Chalamet-induced table tennis resurgence displaces pickleball. (In theaters Dec. 25)

5. “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”

This image released by Netflix shows Josh O’Connor, left, and Daniel Craig in a scene from “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

Underestimate Rian Johnson’s whodunits at your peril. The latest chapter in the endlessly entertaining adventures of Benoit Blanc may be the best of the bunch. It’s certainly the most moving one. And it’s got Josh O’Connor, who put his stamp on the movie year in a handful of standout performances — most especially this and in Kelly Reichardt’s flawless portrait of a very flawed man, “The Mastermind.” (In theaters; on Netflix Dec. 12)

6. “April”

Easily the most haunting movie of the year. Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili’s second film is about a solitary obstetrician, Nina (an extraordinary Ia Sukhitashvili), who traverses the country’s dark countryside serving women while enduring oppressive vilification. The pitiless plight of Nina, who absorbs and carries all the pain around her, will stay with me for a very long time. (Not yet available for digital rental)

7. “Sinners”

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Michael B. Jordan, foreground from left, Michael B. Jordan and Omar Benson Miller in a scene from “Sinners.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Swaggering big-screen genre mashups like this don’t come along too often. Hollywood is desperate for more of them. It should start with whatever Ryan Coogler wants. (Streaming on HBO Max)

8. “Secret Mall Apartment”

The hook of this gem of a documentary is a goofy one: In 2003, eight young Rhode Islanders built and often lived in a hidden space within a Providence mall for years. But when director Jeremy Workman digs into the stranger-than-fiction story, he reveals much more than a prank, uncovering something thoughtful and inspiring about art and commerce and community. (Available for digital rental)

9. “Blue Moon”

What extraordinarily good company Ethan Hawke’s Lorenz Hart is in Richard Linklater’s delightful and melancholy chamber drama, one of two excellent films in 2025 from the director, along with the French New Wave ode “Nouvelle Vague.” From the first monologue at Sardi’s the night his former songwriting partner, Richard Rodgers, is opening “Oklahoma!,” Hart’s wit is warming to the soul. I’d have sat by the bar with him (as “Blue Moon” makes you feel you’re doing) for hours more. (In theaters)

10. “Afternoons of Solitude”

Albert Serra’s documentary close-up of bullfighting makes no overt judgment of the Spanish corridas. Instead, it stays rigorously trained on one bullfighter, Andrés Roca Rey, and the bulls he faces in the ring. It comes close to a purely cinematic experience. In tight compositions, Serra documents a persisting ritual and the sheer spectacle of the blood sport. (Available for digital rental)

Also: “Caught by the Tides,” “One of Them Days,” “Eephus,” “My Father’s Shadow,” “The Testament of Ann Lee,” “Cloud,” “Sentimental Value,” “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” “Bugonia,” “Sorry, Baby”

In Lidia Bastianich’s PBS special “Lidia Celebrates America: A Nation of Neighbors,” one of the people featured is Kiki Rough, who has gained a following on TikTok and other social media platforms for her “Recession Recipes” series of videos. A self-taught cook, she is helping people learn — or more accurately re-learn — how to make a dollar stretch in the kitchen, resurfacing ideas from earlier eras.

“I think a lot of people facing food insecurity right now feel very alone and isolated,” she tells Bastianich in the special, which airs Tuesday on Chicago’s WTTW, “and what I’m trying to do is make sure that they have the skills to feel normal and feel empowered, even though everything else feels like it’s on fire.”

It’s an especially timely subject with the recent uncertainty around SNAP benefits.

Rough, 29, wears heart-shaped glasses. She was born in Hoffman Estates and moved around often as a child. Now she’s based in Porter County, Indiana. She started the “Recession Recipes” series less than a year ago, in February.

She was already on TikTok, with about 60,000 followers that she had picked up after posting videos of her and her husband “doing weird stuff, like he rigged a stove to heat our pool and we could bake cookies while our pool was being heated. Just funny stuff like that. I was just posting stuff randomly and didn’t have a strategy.”

In January, she lost her job working at a software technology company, “so I took a step back and said, what am I good at? I bought a nice camera and I was going to start doing software product demonstrations, because the industry I was working in was so niche that I figured I could find some of these companies in this ecosystem to buy software demonstrations from me.”

But instead of pursuing that, “Recession Recipes” came about — and by accident. “The biggest luxury to me was getting to a place where I could go to the grocery store and put whatever I wanted in my cart, and all of a sudden that wasn’t true again. So for fun, I decided to make a video making a common meal I used to make when I had no money. And I woke up after I posted that and I had 150,000 followers. And I was like, oh! So from there, I realized this is impacting people hard.”

Now she posts a new video three to four times a week, while juggling  a new job that she landed in March. “I don’t make enough from this series to do it full-time, so I work about 30-40 hours a week at this software technology firm and then I get off and work about 20 hours a week on these videos.”

Reached at her home, she talked about the origins of the series and whether this is something she can eventually turn her attention to full-time.

Q: What’s your backstory as a cook?

A: I don’t have any formal culinary experience. The knowledge that I have is from life experience, and being totally kicked on my butt and having to make do with whatever I could get access to. I had to drop out of college for a while and all of a sudden I was working three minimum-wage jobs. I was on food stamps, but I only got about $40 a month. And then I got a 10 cent raise at one of my jobs and I lost my food stamps. So I was playing Tetris with my budget.

Kiki Rough films a video for her TikTok series “Recession Recipes.” (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Q: Fast-forward to February and your thought process after posting that first video.

A: I was really excited at the response and I thought maybe this is when I start showing people the basic skills that I had to teach myself. We weren’t really a cooking household growing up; I love my mother, but she is not the best cook. Something that really excited my audience is what can actually be made in the kitchen, because we have a knowledge gap.

Q: When influencers start making money — sometimes big money — one criticism they have to contend with is that they’re not relatable anymore. Looking ahead longer term, how do you think about navigating that?

A: I’m very mindful about that. I have a tip jar, but I don’t want my followers to ever have to purchase my content. I want it to be free.

Right now, the way that I live would be considered lower middle class. I’m strictly shopping at Dollar General and Aldi right now. I would love to get to middle class. I’ve taken on about $5,000 in debt to create the series, so the money that I make not only goes to pay down that debt, but yesterday I just got a better camera that will allow me to show more intricate shots of what I’m doing. So I’m constantly making sure that I’m pouring money back into the series.

And I don’t advertise this, but sometimes I’ll send some of my followers grocery money. Or this one woman was like, “I’d love to make this but I don’t have spoons or bowls right now,” so I sent her a gift card to get spoons and bowls. I live very modestly and I hardly shop for myself, so I do not intend on turning this into something where I all of a sudden detach from the reality that my followers are living in. I don’t want this to be a get-rich cash funnel.

Q: In the PBS special, you talk about finding ideas in old recipe books from the early 1900s, the Depression and wartime eras. 

A: We’ve already gone through this history and lived it as a society, so I can just pull from the pros. One thing that doesn’t necessarily translate is that back then, nearly everyone had access to eggs, and that’s just not the case anymore (with egg prices increasing). Or everybody used dairy, which isn’t the case now. My family has very severe food allergies — and a lot of them — so how can I take these recipes and do the math and make it not only modern, but adaptable for people who have food allergies?

What I’m mindful of is that people have limited ingredients and I don’t want to give them a recipe that requires a certain level of skill that they might not be at. But also, even if they make a couple of mistakes, it’ll still end up being good, because very few people can afford to waste their food. There is no room for experimentation in lower-income kitchens right now, so I have to make sure everything I’m putting out is an entry-level skill set, but also that whatever substitutions you use are going to work. You have to be able to eat that meal after you make it.

Q: Where are you finding these books?

A: Oh, it’s so fun, it’s like a treasure hunt! There is an antique book reseller near me that has my number on file and he’ll be like, “Hey, I just got one from the 1920s, do you want to come in?” But also I go to estate sales, there are a lot of hidden gems in there. And also, I was really touched by this, someone was clearing out their deceased parents’ house and found their cookbooks and sent them to me. I can’t tell you how much that moved me. The books are everywhere; you just need to know where to look.

Something I notice in the books is, all of a sudden there will be pigeon as an ingredient. They tried to use everything. Sometimes it will call for leftover grease from another recipe. You can tell everyone was trying to use every last drop. Also, they got a little too excited with Jell-O, I’ll say that.

Q: Are there recipes that you come across and think: No one is going to eat this, I really can’t consider it for an upcoming video.

A: Oh, 100%! Some of the ingredients are like: Are you willing to shoot rodents? There was this one cookbook I didn’t buy that was focused on recipes made with squirrel and rabbit.

Q: What recipe got a big response that surprised you?

A: Bagels and cream cheese. That blew some people’s minds, because they were like, “I’m not a bakery but I can make bagels?” That’s my favorite one. The bagels and the cream cheese are from scratch.

Q:  Coming up with new ideas and then shooting and editing your videos is a full-time job in terms of time and effort. Do you want it to become your full-time job for real?

A: Well, right now I don’t have kids. So that’s a big time-freer. I have an acting degree and this series has allowed me to reconnect to that love of performance, but also that love of being myself. Because when you’re acting, you’re being someone else and tapping into someone else’s vision, and this has given me such a good creative outlet as myself.

It’s also the way that I can help right now. And I am so invested in the people that I’m helping, that I will continue to juggle this if I have to and don’t end up monetizing it enough to make it my full-time job.

It’s tough because my inbox is full of people who are so scared and they really express those fears to me. I’m just one woman, but with the SNAP uncertainty, I feel even more motivated. But the concern for everyone swallows me sometimes.

Q: What is it like becoming the face of a business venture? 

A: It’s really humbling. I was bullied growing up, because I was a weird girl, because I make noise when I want, and I say funny things that may not land. So, becoming a personality that people gravitate to and trust, I’ve never felt more appreciated and supported in my life. It’s not like they’re loving this curated personality; they’re appreciating me.

I kind of had to have an ego death in order to put this together because I didn’t have an hour to do hair and makeup between my day job and the filming. I had to let that go and just show up how I am for the day and then slap that on the internet. And it’s made me let go of that vanity because the impact is there whether or not I have lipstick on. I know that the people at home care way less about how I look and care more about how I’m talking to them and the knowledge that I’m giving them.

Kiki Rough adds ingredients to her dish, on camera, in a video for her TikTok series “Recession Recipes.” (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Q: Have you been contacted by book agents or TV producers?

A: I have been contacted by a few book agents and what I will say right now is that I need to make sure that if I take a book deal that it heavily aligns with my values. And right now I’m not there yet.

I haven’t been reached out to by a producer yet, but having a show would be a dream. And I don’t think people understand how far I could take this. How bright I could make this.

I’m an adult, I don’t have kids, but I watch “Bluey” because it gives me this feel-good feeling. It’s wholesome and it calms me down after watching the news. And I think now is the time to step back and create that kind of positive content that people can lean into. That’s part of the appeal of Mr. Rogers or Bob Ross. They are neurologically calming!

So I would love to have a show where I meet new people, cook new things and get new perspectives on life from different walks of life. My brain is a constant creative machine and I know if I had the resources, there is so much cheer I could bring to households.