Is coffee bad for high cholesterol?

Yes, in a round about way.

Coffee has no cholesterol. Cholesterol in the diet only comes from animal products, no plants have cholesterol. Cholesterol is produced by the liver in animals.

Coffee however does have cafestol which activates an acid receptor called FXR that affects how the liver regulates the cholesterol it produces, in effect elevating cholesterol levels in the blood. Cafestol is present in the natural oils of the coffee bean, paper filters used in brewing coffee can trap those oils and in effect reduce the cafestol in the brewed coffee.