Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was adamant in a recently-released interview that the infamous photo between Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre, who accused the member of the British royal family of sexual abuse, is fake.
“I don’t believe it’s real for a second,” Maxwell told the U.K.-channel TalkTV.” “It’s a fake … there’s never been an original, and further, there is no photograph. I’ve only ever seen a photocopy of it.”
Maxwell added she doesn’t remember the photo being taken. “I have no memory of Virginia and Prince Andrew meeting.”
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The 2001 photo shows then-17-year-old Giuffre with Andrew’s arm around her semi-bare waist, with Maxwell a few feet behind, the three of them smiling. It has come to stand as the symbol of Giuffre’s case against the Duke of York.
About a year ago, Giuffre and the prince reached a settlement of an undisclosed amount in Giuffre’s civil lawsuit against him. She had accused the prince of raping her while she was a victim of sex trafficking by Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
According to court documents, Andrew, Maxwell, and Epstein forced Giuffre to sleep with the prince while she was under 18. Giuffre said she feared repercussions if she disobeyed, according to the New York Times. People close to Andrew now believe he may be able to overturn the settlement (rumored to be close to $4 million), the Sun reported.
In court, Andrew regretted his association with Epstein and apologized for the suffering Giuffre endured as both a victim of sexual abuse and the damage to her reputation and attacks from the public. However, his defense attorneys in the past accused Giuffre of making the allegations for financial reasons and painted her as someone only interested in money.
Maxwell was sentenced last June to 20 years in prison after she was found guilty on five counts, including “transporting a minor for the purposes of criminal sexual activity,” “conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts,” and perjury related to statements she made in 2016.
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The British socialite said meeting Epstein was the “biggest regret” of her life. The 61-year-old is in a Florida prison where she spoke with TalkTV. The full interview is set to air on Monday.
Epstein was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking in 2019.
