Much has been said about Stephen Hawking’s name in the newly revealed Jeffrey Epstein documents. But is the famous physicist accused of anything?
Not according to the documents released so far.
A US judge has publicly released the names of dozens of people who testified, were deposed, and were named in depositions in connection with an earlier lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. The documents released on Wednesday detail the case brought by Giuffre, which concluded in 2017.
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In these documents, Hawking’s name appears in an email Epstein sent to Ghislaine Maxwell, an accomplice convicted of sex trafficking in 2015.
In the typo-riddled email, Epstein tells Maxwell to offer a reward to anyone who provides information that disproves Virginia Giuffre’s claim that Hawking participated in an ‘underage sex party’.
The email reads:
“You can give a prize to those of Virginia’s friends, acquaintances, family who come forward and help prove her claims wrong. The strongest is the Clinton dinner and the new version that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy in the Virgin Islands.”
According to The Independent, Hawking visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2006 during a conference. Photos emerged in 2015 showing the Cambridge professor at a barbecue, on a boat trip and on a submarine tour. Hawking was one of 21 internationally renowned scientists who attended a conference on gravity funded by Epstein in March 2006.
Hawking’s name also appears on a list. According to court records, Maxwell’s lawyers asked Giuffre if he had photos of the people on the list. (Stephen Hawking Estate has not yet responded to Business Insider’s request for comment).
Hawking has not been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. In 2016, unsealed documents from the civil lawsuit against Maxwell do not contain Giuffre’s allegations.
This is just the first batch of documents and more are expected to emerge.
Hawking struggled with ALS throughout his life and died in 2018. Epstein was found dead in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial and was declared to have committed suicide. His accomplice Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for trafficking in minors.
Summary from Business Insider news article. Additional sources: Independent and Telegraph
