Jeffrey Epstein Filthy Rich: 5 most shocking moments from Netflix documentary | EW.com
Jeffrey Epstein Filthy Rich: 5 most shocking moments from Netflix documentary | EW.com
5 of the most shocking moments from Netflix's Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
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During Jeffrey Epstein's life, the American financier was convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute — but that's just a sliver of the story. Netflix's new true-crime documentary Filthy Rich dives into the laundry list of allegations against Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell last year, with testimony from women who claim to have been victimized by him and his high-powered associates while they were underage.
Epstein was accused of having a sexual abuse pyramid scheme that recruited vulnerable teenage girls from local middle schools and high schools to come to his mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., under the guise of giving him massages — but in fact so he could sexually assault them. His alleged recruitment went beyond that city, however. Accusers from all over the globe share their allegations on the record during the four-part docu-series, which is directed by Lisa Bryant.
Filthy Rich also gives insight into the difficulties abuse victims face when they're seeking out justice against people in power. Here are five of the series' most shocking moments.
Friends in high places
It's no secret that Epstein associated with powerful people, including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Alan Dershowitz, and Woody Allen. In Filthy Rich, accusers and eyewitnesses present their versions of events — versions uniformly disputed by the principals — that place the aforementioned people in troubling situations with Epstein involving underage girls.
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Maxwell has been accused by multiple women of recruiting them while underage so she and Epstein could sexually abuse them and traffic them to their associates. It has been said that Maxwell introduced Epstein to Prince Andrew, and in the documentary Virginia Roberts Giuffre repeats her accusation that both men sexually assaulted her when she was underage. Maxwell has also been accused of recruiting girls for Epstein at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, located in Palm Beach.
Clinton denies having ever visited Epstein's private island Little Saint James in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but a former employee, Steve Scully, says he saw the former president there during a visit, as well as Prince Andrew and Dershowitz. Scully claims to have seen the Duke of York there "grinding" on a young topless girl during his visit, whom he says was Giuffre.
"She was young, she didn't have any top on," Scully says about the event, which he claims happened in 2004. "They were engaged in foreplay. He was grabbing her, and grinding against her."
Giuffre also claims to have seen Clinton on the island.
Everyone above, including Maxwell, Prince Andrew, Trump, and Clinton, submitted denials which are included in the documentary.
The Wexler of it all
Epstein became a wealthy man in various ways, including from his association with billionaire Leslie Wexler, founder of retail giant L. Brands. It has been alleged in the past that Wexler and Epstein were lovers, something Epstein denied. Wexler has never publicly explained his relationship with Epstein, but during their time working together he handed Epstein power over his finances, among other aspects of his life.
California model Alicia Arden alleges that Epstein, under the guise of being a talent scout for L. Brands retail brand Victoria's Secret, lured her to his hotel, where he tried to grab her and undress her. She fled to a local police station and filed a report.
Wexler claims not to have been aware of Epstein's alleged abuses and has never confirmed the amount of money he lost while Epstein served as his personal money manager. It has been reported that his losses were around $46 million. Wexler stepped down as chairman and CEO of L. Brands in February.
Say what?!
In the third episode of Filthy Rich, a video deposition shows Epstein being asked by an accuser's attorney, Spencer Kuvin, whether he has an "egg-shaped" penis. Epstein just laughs in response to the question as his attorney warns Kuvin that his line of questioning intends to embarrass Epstein. This prompts Epstein to get up and leave, something he often does in the videos of his depositions in the documentary.
Pleading the Fifth
Giuffre says Epstein received three 12-year-old girls from France who didn't speak English to sexually exploit and abuse as a birthday gift from a friend. When Epstein was asked about the validity of the claim during a deposition, he invoked the Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendments and declined to answer.
Giuffre, who met Epstein at Mar-a-Lago when she was 16, has previously said in court filings that the three girls were bestowed upon Epstein by French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
A sweetheart deal
Alex Acosta was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida and has been accused of mishandling Epstein's sex trafficking case in 2008 involving more than 30 underage women. Epstein agreed to Acosta's non-prosecution agreement, which saw him serve just 13 months at county jail in exchange for pleading guilty to lesser charges. Under what's been derided as a sweetheart deal, Epstein and his alleged co-conspirators were granted immunity. His jail sentence was lenient, and he was able to leave during the day to work from his office for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.
A federal judge found that Acosta broke the Crime Victims Rights Act law in 2019 for concealing the plea agreement from his victims, which was exposed by a Miami Herald investigation. Acosta, who was appointed to the position of U.S. Secretary of Labor in April 2017 by President Trump, a former Epstein associate, maintains that he made a fair deal that saw Epstein serve time. Due to outrage over his deal with Epstein, Acosta resigned as labor secretary in July 2019.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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