Michael Jackson Named in Epstein Court Docs with No Evidence of Wrongdoing
The name of Michael Jackson, the late pop icon, appeared in some court papers that were recently made public and related to Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking. However, the documents did not accuse the singer of any misconduct. The papers, which were revealed on Wednesday night (Jan. 3), belong to a 2015 lawsuit that Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Epstein, filed against Ghislaine Maxwell, the girlfriend of the deceased financier. Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of assisting Epstein in luring and abusing minors. She received a 20-year sentence. The late King of Pop — who was cleared of charges that he abused young boys in 2005, and strongly rejected the claims during his lifetime — was mentioned during the testimony of a witness, which happened on May 18, 2016, as per the documents that Billboard obtained. In the transcript, Sigrid McCawley, the lawyer of Giuffre, asks the witness — who also accused Epstein of wrongdoing — about the famous people she met with the financier, who had ties to the wealthy, influential and well-known. “Did you ever meet anybody famous when you were with Jeffrey?” McCawley asked.
“I met Michael Jackson,” the witness answered. “At his house in Palm Beach. At Jeffrey’s house in Palm Beach.”
McCawley also inquired if the witness had massaged Jackson, which she said no to.
Later in the testimony, Laura Menninger — a lawyer for Maxwell — resumed the questioning about the 13-time Grammy winner: “You were asked about the famous people. You said you met Michael Jackson?”
The witness affirmed again that she had encountered the artist, and also repeated that she had never massaged him. The documents did not contain any claims of misconduct by Jackson, thankfully.