The Epstein List: How Some Of The Most Prominent Names Listed Have Responded
The following article mentions sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
Once an esteemed figure who moved in high circles and hobnobbed with some of the most powerful people on the planet, Jeffrey Epstein was no stranger to mingling with politicians, royals, and celebrities alike. Some of his past connections, however, are having a hard time shaking their former association with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Even though Epstein died in prison before his sex trafficking trial, the verdict — in the minds of the public, at least — is that he was guilty as sin. His associate, lover, and partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her involvement in Epstein's sex trafficking ring, which involved several minors, further cementing the public's opinion of Epstein's crimes.
It might be safe to assume that those who enjoyed Epstein's company (and trips to his private island) now wish they'd never met him, even more so when a federal judge ruled that the documents in the Epstein case would be made public in January 2024. These documents list more than 100 people who were connected to or associated with the sex offender. Needless to say, for many prominent people in high society, 2024 didn't exactly kick off on a high note. Three days in, the documents were released, and many of those listed were forced to respond publicly to try and salvage their image.
Bill Clinton claims he ditched Jeffrey Epstein way back in 2006
After Jeffrey Epstein's list was made public on January 3, 2024, a number of high-profile figures quickly made an effort to clear their names and deny any involvement in Epstein's crimes. Among them was Bill Clinton.
It appears the former president used to be close friends with Epstein — the latter visited the White House around 17 times during Clinton's time in office, and he made generous donations to the former president's foundation. The two also took a trip to Africa, and there's a picture of Clinton getting a massage from one of Epstein's victims, Chauntae Davies. Then, there's the painting of Clinton in a dress that hung in Epstein's New York home, which, let's be honest, is just downright curious. An insider told the New York Post that it was proof that the two were close enough to share inside jokes. Clinton, however, has maintained that he'd broken all contact with Epstein after his first arrest in 2006.
In the unsealed court documents, one of Epstein's accusers is quoted as saying that Epstein told her Clinton "likes them young, referring to girls" (via People). In the meantime, Clinton's spokesperson released a statement to People, insisting that all allegations are false. "It's been nearly 20 years since President Clinton last had contact with Epstein," they said, citing their 2019 statement that Clinton never had any knowledge about Epstein's sex trafficking ring.
Donald Trump's rep said the claims hold no water
In 2002, Jeffrey Epstein was still a cool billionaire, so when Donald Trump was asked about his friendship with the financier by New York magazine, he was quite forthcoming. "I've known Jeff for fifteen years," he stated to the outlet. "Terrific guy." Trump had traveled on Epstein's private jets a couple of times in the '90s, and the unsealed court documents reveal that one of Epstein's accusers, Johanna Sjoberg, said that she and Epstein once stopped by one of Trump's casinos. Another accuser, Sarah Ransome, claimed that one of her friends in Epstein's sex trafficking circle had sexual relations with Trump. Ransome, however, retracted all of her testimony later on.
When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump pivoted and went from bragging about their friendship to saying that he barely knew him. "[I] knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him," he said at the time (via the Independent), claiming that he didn't see eye to eye with the disgraced financier. "I had a falling out with him. I haven't spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you," he said.
After the Epstein List was made public, Trump's rep, Steven Cheung, maintained his client was in the clear. According to Newsweek, Cheung stated that none of the claims regarding Trump's association with Epstein have any merit and that they had been "thoroughly debunked."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has nothing to hide
While many on the Epstein List have scrambled to put out statements to assure the public that they had no knowledge of the disgraced financier's sex trafficking circle, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential race, has welcomed the unsealing of the court documents, despite his name being listed.
In a December 2023 interview with Fox News, Kennedy admitted that he flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane twice in the '90s. As he told the outlet, his second wife, Mary Richardson, was acquainted with Ghislaine Maxwell, who at the time was Epstein's girlfriend. According to Kennedy, Maxwell invited them to join them on their flight to Palm Beach since Kennedy was planning on visiting his mother there. On another trip, Kennedy took his children to go fossil hunting. He reiterated that he never took a solo trip on Epstein's plane. "I've been very open about this from the beginning," Kennedy said, "It was 30 years ago; it was before anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein's nefarious issues."
Kennedy also told Fox that he agreed that the court documents should be released. Speaking to News Nation, he doubled down on these comments, saying, "I like the fact that all these papers are being released. I've been an advocate for transparency. I think that the government keeps too many secrets." He then added that he thinks it's suspicious that the U.S. government hadn't been willing to make the documents public of their own accord.
Prince Andrew hasn't released a statement but is reportedly 'devastated'
It's no secret that Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein were thick as thieves; Andrew getting stripped of his military titles and patronages can indirectly be attributed to his association with the disgraced financier. Things went sideways for Andrew when one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, filed a lawsuit against him for allegedly sexually assaulting her three times. The lawsuit was eventually settled outside of court. During an interview with BBC Newsnight which saw Andrew all but fall on his face, the royal said that he didn't regret his friendship with Epstein because of all the connections it had provided him with. He also failed to show any empathy towards Epstein's victims. He claimed that he and Epstein "weren't that close," but pictures of him partying with the financier on a yacht seem to suggest otherwise.
If inside sources are to be believed, Andrew had hoped to resume his royal duties in 2024. The recently unsealed court documents from the Epstein case, however, swiftly dashed these hopes. The documents contain testimony from Johanna Sjoberg, who claimed the prince groped her and participated in an "underage orgy." She also alleged that he regularly came to the Epstein residence for massages.
"[He] has no idea how to respond," an inside source told The Mirror. "He doesn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this. He has locked himself away in a room and has no idea how to respond. He's devastated."
Alan Dershowitz jumped on a YouTube live stream
If the name Alan Dershowitz rings a bell, it's because the same woman who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, accused Dershowitz of the same crime. She later dropped the charges, but other plaintiffs in the Epstein case also accused him of sexual assault.
What's more, Dershowitz was Jeffery Epstein's lawyer and negotiated a plea deal for the underage prostitution charges Epstein was convicted of in 2008. This enabled the pedophile to spend less time in jail and continue working through what is known as a work-release program. That's not exactly a good look, and it's also no surprise that Dershowitz is one of the names listed in the unsealed court documents.
The Harvard law professor tried to save face by jumping on a livestream shortly after the documents were made public. "Of course I'm on that list, I was his lawyer. I flew on his plane. ... I had an innocent relationship with a man who I didn't know, nobody suspected, had done anything wrong," he Dershowitz said on the YouTube livestream. "We're so tempted to just assume that if a person's name is on a list, 'Oh there must be something wrong, where there's smoke, there's fire,'" Dershowitz said. He then proceeded to explain that, just because something is in a court document doesn't necessarily make it credible. He also said that he had nothing to hide and that he had pushed for the documents to be released.
Richard Branson shrugged off the allegations
One of the accusers in Jeffrey Epstein's case, Sarah Ransome, alleged that Sir Richard Branson, a British business magnate, was involved in the filming of sex tapes alongside Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. She also said that Epstein was the one who was behind the camera and that he'd been smart enough to never step in front of it. She claimed to have watched these tapes, which she said had been given to her by a friend. In her testimony, Ransome alleged that Branson and the two other men could easily be identified on the footage. In 2019, Ransome told the New Yorker that she fabricated the story about the tapes to make a point and to intimidate Epstein, should he try to harm her for speaking up about his crimes. However, in January 2024, Ransome stated on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" (via BBC) that she actually did not fabricate the claims about the tapes after all, but previously said she did out of fear. "There are videos that exist and the people that know they exist," she said. "I'm sure they are very frightened of them being released."
When asked for comment regarding Branson's name appearing on the Epstein List, Branson's spokesperson told the Independent that the business magnate wasn't involved in any of Epstein's shady business. "We can confirm that Sarah Ransome's claims are baseless and unfounded," they told the outlet.
Glenn Dubin denied all accusations against him
Glenn Dubin, named as one of the men Virginia Roberts Giuffre was trafficked to have sex with, is a billionaire investor and a New York society philanthropist. The newly unsealed court documents reveal that Giuffre alleged that Dubin was the first man Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, forced her to have sex with. During a 2016 deposition, Giuffre testified under oath that Maxwell instructed her to give Dubin a massage. "When they say massage, that means erotic, okay? That's their term for it," she explained, as reported by the Daily Mail. "And I'm telling you that Ghislaine told me to go to Glenn Dubin and give him a massage, which means sex."
Dubin's ties to Epstein go way back. His current wife, Eva Andersson-Dubin, used to date Epstein in the '80s and '90s; Maxwell had claimed in a deposition that she and Andersson-Dubin were close friends. While neither Dubin nor his wife ever faced charges, the unsealed court documents have once again called their integrity into question, especially since their butler, Renaldo Rizzo, testified that he was at the couple's residence when Maxwell showed up with a 15-year-old girl. According to Rizzo, the girl confided in him that she was being forced to have sex with Epstein. In response to the unsealed documents, the Dubins' spokesperson told the Independent, "The Dubins strongly deny these allegations, as we first said in 2019, when these unsubstantiated statements first surfaced as part of this same civil court proceeding."
Thomas Pritzker vehemently denies any wrongdoing
While Thomas Pritzker isn't as high profile as some of the other names on Epstein's List, there's no doubt he's a powerful figure. Pritzker is a billionaire who also happens to head Hyatt Hotels. He was one of the men Virginia Roberts Giuffre accused of being involved in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring. The unsealed court documents reveal that Giuffre accused Pritzker of being one of the many men she was forced to have sexual relations with.
Pritzker was never implicated in the Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell case. However, his association with the disgraced financier has been questioned. Not only has it been reported that he regularly had dinner at the Epstein residence in 2003, but Pritzker also appears to have stayed in contact with Epstein after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution in 2008. According to old diary entries, Pritzker and Epstein met frequently in 2014.
Speaking to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Pritzker reiterated that, just because he was named on the list, doesn't mean he was involved in any wrongdoing. "This is the same false and isolated allegation that was published and vehemently denied more than four years ago. Mr. Pritzker continues to vehemently deny it," they said.
Les Wexner denied any participation in Jeffrey Epstein's shady activities
Les Wexner, former CEO of Victoria's Secret, has also been implicated in the unsealed court documents. A 2016 deposition with Virginia G details Wexner's alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Giuffre not only accused Wexner of sexually abusing her on multiple occasions, but she also told lawyers that he "participated in sex with minors" (via Business Insider).
Wexner and Epstein used to work together — Epstein was his financial advisor — but Wexner alleged that he eventually discovered that Epstein swindled him out of $46 million shortly after the financier was first charged with sexual misconduct. Following Epstein's arrest in 2019, Wexner released a statement, clarifying that he was blissfully unaware of Epstein's sex trafficking ring. "I condemn his abhorrent behavior in the strongest possible terms and am sickened by the revelations I have read over the past weeks," part of his statement read. He also added that he was embarrassed to have to admit that Epstein fooled him into thinking he was a good man.
After Giuffre 2016 deposition became public, Wexner's spokesperson released a statement to Business Insider, reiterating that the former CEO had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes. "Mr. Wexner was unaware of, and was never a participant in, any of the abhorrent behavior engaged in by Epstein against Epstein's victims, that Mr. Wexner had never met Ms. Giuffre, and that any claims to the contrary were not true," the statement read.
Cameron Diaz's rep denied any connection between the actor and Jeffrey Epstein
Some prominent Hollywood actors' names also came up when the Jeffrey Epstein records were made public. Understandably, these actors quickly made an effort to distance themselves from the story. A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, and Cameron Diaz were among the celebrities mentioned in the documents, but their purported links to Epstein appear to be nonexistent. As reported by the Independent, Johanna Sjoberg said in her testimony that Jeffrey Epstein would casually reference phone conversations he'd supposedly had with various movie stars. Sjoberg told the court that she never met the actors, but according to her testimony, Epstein was keen on "name-dropping."
Shortly after the court documents were unsealed, Diaz's publicist spoke to Page Six, denying that the actor was ever involved with Epstein in any way. "Cameron never met Jeffrey Epstein, nor was she ever in the same place as him or had any association with him whatsoever, regardless of the fact he may or may not have mentioned her name or implied that he knew her," Diaz's publicist said. While many listed in the court documents have had no choice but to admit that they had associated with Epstein in the past, there's nothing that ties Diaz to him, so it appears that she's in the clear. DiCaprio and Blanchett's reps also told the Independent that their clients had no connections to Epstein.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).