In life, Jeffrey Epstein was an elusive figure. He was an incredibly rich man whom no one seemed to know anything about, regardless of how close to him. Portraits of him throughout the years were painted in the eyes of journalists who were given a narrow context to portray him within. Contrary to those accounts, he was no Jay Gatsby or Tom Ripley. He was a monster.
The truth about the billionaire was much darker and is the subject of the Netflix miniseries, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich. The documentary explores the cases against Jeffrey over the years. The testimonies of survivors are played as the mountain of evidence against the disgraced financier is presented.
Throughout the series, you can't help but be infuriated at what this man was allowed to get away with. What's more frustrating is knowing that there are associates of his who are out there living their lives, not facing the consequences of the heinous situations they facilitated or participated in.
Netflix has released a new four-hour docuseries that delves into the deeply depraved world of Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich explores how Jeffrey spent most of his life using his position of power and amassed fortune to take advantage of young girls. As it lays out the facts and the history of charges against Jeffrey, it allows victims to tell their stories in their own words.
The documentary shows Jeffrey had a pattern that helped him build his network of underage girls. He would have an associate introduce him to a girl under the guise of needing a masseuse. The girls would eventually be sexually confronted. Few felt they were in the position to say no. Even those who did found that the entitled financier would still do what he pleased.
After a period of time, these women would be asked to bring siblings or friends around for paid work. The girls were intimidated, physically and financially, into compliance. Quickly, Jeffrey would have a large number of girls at his disposal. Many of these women wrestle to this day with the guilt of knowing what happened to those they introduced to him.
Director Lisa Bryant shared the difficulty in getting survivors to speak out so candidly. "Some people wouldn't talk at all, some numbers were wrong, some decided they just weren't ever going to talk, for various reasons. Some hadn't even told their parents about it," Lisa explained, according to The Guardian.
While noting that Jeffrey stuck to a particular pattern was important, it was more important to share the victims' stories. The series does an amazing job of illuminating the stories of Jeffrey's survivors.
"Yes, there was a pattern that he had, but each person's experience with that and how they handled it is different," Lisa explained. "This is their story to tell, their narrative. We wanted this to be told through their eyes."
One of the most well-known voices featured in the documentary belongs to Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Virginia describes the many incidents she witnessed and experienced in her two years with Jeffrey. She also describes the trafficking, where she was ordered to serve his prominent friends, who also allegedly include Jeffrey's attorney, Alan Dershowitz.
A number of other celebrities are named in the documentary as friends of Jeffrey's, although they aren't all necessarily accused of misconduct. The term "politicians" comes up a few times, but Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are the only two mentioned by name. Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker are also named.
Virginia is best known for her accusations against Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. She addresses them again in the documentary.
"Ghislaine [Maxwell] tells me, 'You're going to have to do for him what you do for Jeffrey," Virginia recalls. "Right after that photo was taken, I was sexually abused by Prince Andrew for the first time."
Prince Andrew has categorically denied the allegations, as has Buckingham Palace in a statement in the documentary.
Andrew claims to not even know Virginia, despite photos of them together. It was the subject of his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, where he failed to show compassion for the victims. Days later, he stepped out of public life for the foreseeable future.
Filthy Rich also reminds viewers of Jeffrey's supposed co-conspirators, Ghislaine Maxwell, Lesley Groff, Sarah Kellen, Nadia Marcinkova, and Adriana Ross. All women are protected from prosecution thanks to the sweetheart deal Jeffrey received in 2008.
Some of Jeffrey's survivors believe that one of the powerful people associated with him may be responsible for Jeffrey's mysterious death. Though it was officially ruled a suicide, there is widespread speculation that someone had him killed. While the death has allegedly been investigated by a number of parties, no further answers have been provided.
This series is just the beginning. A number of deep dives into Jeffrey Epstein's world are planned for the coming months. Lifetime and Sony are both reportedly working on projects related to the case. Julie K. Brown is working on a book that's simultaneously being adapted into an HBO series detailing her reporting for the Miami Herald, which led to renewed interest in the case in 2018.
