Case in point—this email from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, to Jeffrey Epstein from 2011. She described him as her “supreme friend.” This correspondence recently became public through stories by both The Sun and the Mail on Sunday. These emails paint a picture of the complicated relationship between Ferguson and Epstein. They assume a new importance, particularly in light of her earlier public rebuke of him.
Just weeks before sending the email, Ferguson had publicly distanced herself from Epstein. In an interview with the London Evening Standard, she described taking £15,000 from him a “huge mistake of judgment.” She confessed that the cash was intended to pay off her debts. Subsequently, she condemned him publicly, which led Epstein to threaten legal action for defamation after she linked him to allegations of sexual abuse.
Two weeks after her interview, Ferguson emailed Epstein to apologize for her disparaging public comments. In that message, she clearly explained what she had done wrong, expressed her intention to repay the £15,000 and pledged to cut all ties with him.
“I was bedridden with fear. I was paralysed,” – Sarah Ferguson
In the same email, she expressed remorse for not responding sooner: “I am apologising to you today for not replying to your email or reaching out to you. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family,” she wrote.
Ferguson’s spokesperson echoed this in defense of her actions, claiming Ferguson was duped by Epstein. Like so many others, she was seduced by his charms and his dishonest magic act. As soon as she found out about the credible sexual misbehavior charges against him, she cut all communications– ASAP. She then went so far as to publicly denounce him, prompting him to threaten to sue her for defamation for the use of the word paedophilia in the association, said spokesperson.
Prior to her public separation from Epstein, Ferguson had a long record of financial transactions with him. The £15,000 lump sum was supposed to help her pay her existing debts. Following Epstein’s 2008 federal conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Ferguson acted swiftly. She cut all professional ties with him immediately upon hearing the allegations.
As seen in her email exchanges, Ferguson sets the record straight on her connection to Epstein. She stressed that even while calling out the personal relationship, she has never charged him with any crime.
“As you know I did not, absolutely not, say the P word about you,” – Sarah Ferguson
Bloomberg acquired the emails from Epstein’s personal Yahoo account. These emails have given life to a new national discourse on the relationships he cultivated prior to his pre-arrest and subsequent conviction.
