Cameron Diaz is among a host of film stars who have been forced to deny having “any association” with Jeffrey Epstein, after being named in newly-released court documents.
Last month, US Judge Loretta Preska ruled that documents naming more than 170 people who were either associates, friends or victims of the disgraced financier should be made public.
The unsealed documents are part of a 2015 lawsuit Virginia Guiffre filed against Epstein’s former girlfriend and associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Her lawsuit against Maxwell was settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald went to court to access the court papers initially filed under seal.
About 2,000 pages were unsealed by a court in 2019, and additional documents were released each year until 2022.
The latest batch that has been released includes about 250 records, however they largely contain information that was already public knowledge.
While a host of famous faces are mentioned in the documents, many on the list share no direct link to the sex offender.
For examples, stars like Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are mentioned in a witness statement citing a false press report claiming the witness had met them.
Other Hollywood stars mentioned in this section include Bruce Willis, Kevin Spacey, and George Lucas.
As noted in the documents, a lawyer asked Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg: “I saw one press report that said you had met Cate Blanchett or Leonardo DiCaprio?”
Sjoberg replied: “I did not meet them, no. When I spoke about them, it was when I was massaging him [Epstein], and he would get off – he would be on the phone a lot at that time, and one time he said: ‘Oh, that was Leonardo,’ or, ‘That was Cate Blanchett, or Bruce Willis.’ That kind of thing.”
When the lawyer asked Sjoberg if Epstein was “name-dropping”, she replied: “Yes,” and she confirmed that she never met Cameron, Cate, Leo, or any of the other names mentioned.
In response to the court documents, Cameron’s representative told Page Six: “Cameron never met Jeffrey Epstein, nor was she ever in the same place as him or had any association with him whatsoever, regardless of the fact he may or may not have mentioned her name or implied that he knew her.”
Reps for DiCaprio and Blanchett have also denied any involvement with Epstein.
The disgraced financier, who was registered sex offender, died by suicide while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
In June 2022, his former girlfriend Ghislaine was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.
She was previously found guilty of recruiting, enticing and transporting minors to engage in illegal sex acts with the disgraced financier.
Virgina Giuffre is among dozens of women who sued Epstein, claiming she was a victim of his sex trafficking ring in the early 2000s.
In February 2022, Ms Giuffre settled out of court over a civil sex assault claim she filed against Prince Andrew, a former friend of Epstein.
The 38-year-old had accused the Duke of sexually assaulting her in 2001 when she was 17, an allegation he has vehemently denied.
In the latest batch of court documents released in the US on Wednesday night, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg claimed Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast to pose for a photo with Epstein, Giuffre and Maxwell in 2001.
The Duke of York has previously denied this allegation.
Due to his controversial friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein the Prince was stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages.
Virginia’s allegations have tarnished the royal’s reputation, and despite occasional appearances at family events, such as the 2022 funeral of Queen Elizabeth and the annual Christmas get-together, he has been taken out of life in the public eye.
