Jeffrey Epstein was friendly with a lot of A-listers. From
a famous magician to the King of Pop, here are some of the celebs
to appear on the newly released court documents involving the billionaire.
What do Stephen Hawking, Al Gore, Cate Blanchett, and David Copperfield all have in common? They've
been named in previously redacted court documents in connection with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine
Maxwell. To make it clear, none of these people have in any way been accused of anything illegal,
connected to, or aware of any alleged sex trafficking of young girls by Epstein and Maxwell.
Here's the backstory as to how these documents came out. Before Maxwell was convicted in
2021 of helping traffic young women, some underage, to be sexually abused by Epstein,
she faced a defamation lawsuit in 2015. That lawsuit was brought by Virginia Giuffre,
who also sued Prince Andrew for sexual abuse connected with Epstein.
"Just for the record, you've been on his private plane."
"Yes."
“You've been to stay on his private island."
"Yes."
In December 2023, a judge ruled that previously redacted names in
the documents from that 2015 trial should be released to the public in early January 2024.
There was plenty of speculation about who would be on the list of 150-plus names,
and there seemed to be a hope that it would be a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. However,
the documents instead included names of Epstein employees, witnesses,
and some famous and influential people who had associated with Epstein. Some of those
names we knew were coming. For instance, it wasn't a surprise that former presidents Bill
Clinton and Donald Trump were on the list, given their past ties to the billionaire.
But theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking? We definitely didn't see that one coming.
In the first batch of documents, totaling over 900 pages, Hawking came up a couple
of times. He first appeared in an email between Epstein and Maxwell,
where Epstein asks her to "issue a reward" to anyone in Virginia Giuffre's circle that
could help debunk a claim about Hawking having taken part "in an underage orgy." He came up
again in a request for Giuffre to produce any photos that she had taken with him.
Hawking did once go to Epstein's private island in
the Caribbean — called Little St. James — in 2006, according to The Independent.
Epstein reportedly arranged for Hawking to take a submarine trip while there.
Al Gore was another surprise name in the Jeffrey Epstein documents. He came up in a
deposition by Johanna Sjoberg, one of Epstein's accusers. Sjoberg was asked by Laura Menninger,
a lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell, if she had ever met him or seen Al or
his wife Tipper Gore while at Little St. James. Sjoberg responded that she had not.
As for the other big celebrity names in entertainment that came up in the
testimony — including Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Spacey, Cameron Diaz,
among others — their inclusion seems less salacious than it might seem at first. After all,
Sjoberg testified that she never met any of the celebs during her time with Epstein and Maxwell.
Sjoberg also confirmed that she didn't hear Giuffre talk about meeting any of the celebs.
She did note that Epstein would name-drop people he said he'd been on the phone with,
specifically noting DiCaprio and Blanchett. Representatives for DiCaprio, Diaz, and Blanchett
have denied any connection, including any phone calls, with Epstein, according to The Guardian.
However, Sjoberg did say she met Michael Jackson at Epstein's house in Palm Beach,
Florida. When asked if she ever massaged Jackson,
she said no. She also met David Copperfield. Sjoberg told Sigrid {SIH-grid} McCawley,
attorney for Giuffre, that she got to see Copperfield perform some magic tricks at
a dinner that Epstein held, and confirmed that she felt Epstein and the magician were friends.
To reiterate, there have been no accusations of misconduct by any of
these celebrities named in the unredacted documents in relation to Epstein. They
do seem to show Epstein's desire to associate with high-profile people.
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).