Ghislaine Maxwell denies Epstein photo is real and refuses to apologise to victims

Maxwell, serving 20 years for sex trafficking, told Jeremy Kyle she believes a photo of Prince Andrew with accuser Virginia Giuffre is fake. She offered no apology to victims.

Maxwell dismisses Epstein photo and offers no apology to victims in prison interview

Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence at FCI Tallahassee for trafficking girls to Jeffrey Epstein, has claimed a photograph allegedly showing Prince Andrew with his accuser Virginia Giuffre is a fake — and refused to apologise to Epstein's victims during a prison interview, express.co.uk reports.

Speaking to TalkTV's Jeremy Kyle, Maxwell said of the image: "It is a fake. I don't believe it is real for a second, in fact, I am sure it is not. There has never been an original, there is no photograph."

She added: "There is no original of that photo, copies of copies and parts of it, according to some experts, look like it has been photoshopped. I don't remember her in my home."

The photograph, which shows Prince Andrew with his arm around Giuffre and a smiling Maxwell visible in the background, was purportedly taken at Maxwell's London home in March 2001 following a night out at Tramp nightclub, according to Giuffre. Giuffre handed the original to the FBI in 2011 during the Bureau's investigation into Epstein following his first conviction, evidence recording logs have shown.

Giuffre directly dismissed suggestions the image was doctored during a separate interview with Panorama. She said: "I think the world is getting sick of these ridiculous excuses. It's a real photo. I've given it to the FBI for their investigation and it's an authentic photo. There's a date on the back of it from when it was printed."

Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied the accusations made against him. In a 2019 Newsnight interview he stated he had "no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever." The Duke of York settled a civil sexual assault case brought by Giuffre last year for an undisclosed sum, making no admission of liability.

Maxwell told Kyle she has "no memory" of Andrew and Giuffre meeting, though she acknowledged it was not impossible, saying: "I know that Virginia travelled with Jeffrey, and so it's entirely possible. It wasn't something so outrageously out of leftfield that it couldn't have happened."

No apology for Epstein's victims

Asked to address Epstein's victims directly during the interview, Maxwell declined to apologise and instead directed their grievances at the authorities. She said: "I say that Epstein died and they should take their disappointment and upset out on the authorities who allowed that to happen. And as I said I hope they have some closure by the judicial process that took place."

Maxwell also alleged that New York authorities "allowed" Epstein to kill himself while in custody — a claim she did not elaborate on further.

Lisa Bloom, a US attorney who represented several of Epstein's victims, condemned Maxwell's response. "They're glad Ghislaine is exactly where she should be, in prison," Bloom said. "Whenever she opens her mouth, you can predict she's going to be feeling sorry for herself, playing the victim, playing the scapegoat. It's just the same old thing from her."

Bloom also accused Maxwell of "playing the scapegoat" for refusing to disclose information about Epstein's so-called "little black book", the contents of which — including the details of Epstein's clients — were revealed only to members of the jury during Maxwell's trial.

Daily routine and complaints about prison conditions

During the interview, Maxwell also described her daily routine inside FCI Tallahassee and said she is "suffering from depression." She described being woken at 6am for a breakfast of cereal and fruit, followed by bed-making and a morning shift working in the prison's law library.

"I go to the law library to help people so they have detainers or have warrants or they're trained to appeal their cases," she said, adding that she also assists fellow inmates with administrative remedies until 10am.

On the food, Maxwell said portion control is "very odd" and that, as someone on a no-meat diet, she is theoretically entitled to hummus, cottage cheese or tofu. "But mostly, I'd say 95 percent of the time, it's tofu or beans," she said.

Maxwell also spoke briefly about her personal experience with the late Queen, describing her as possessing "a warmth and a sparkle in her eyes that was mesmerizing really," and recalling a brief shared conversation about horses.

Background

Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 on five counts related to the sex trafficking of minors and is currently serving her sentence at FCI Tallahassee in Florida. Epstein, her longtime associate and convicted sex offender, died in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, though it has been the subject of ongoing speculation.

Source: The Sun