Photos of the late physicist Stephen Hawking have been released in the Epstein court documents, showing him on a sun lounger with two bikini-clad women while sipping cocktails on what is thought to be the notorious island
Stephen Hawking has been seen beaming in a photo flanked by two women in bikinis, sipping cocktails, as revealed in the Epstein files. The late professor is pictured lounging on a sunbed with a red drink in hand, seemingly on a tropical island.
No context was provided for the photo and neither the location nor date was initially disclosed. Department of Justice documents mention theoretical physicist hundreds of times, although this does not indicate any wrongdoing.
Hawking was one of 21 globally recognised scientists who attended a conference hosted by Epstein on the island and nearby St Thomas in 2006. Here’s everything we know about the photo of the late professor.
Women are ‘carers’
The two women photographed with Stephen Hawking are believed to have been his long-term carers. The image is now understood to have been captured at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in the US Virgin Islands in 2006, where Professor Hawking gave a lecture on quantum cosmology.
Prior to that summit, Hawking was captured in two images on the infamous island. One showed him at a barbecue with several other individuals, and the second depicted him being shown the island’s seabed from inside a submarine.
Epstein had reportedly adapted the underwater craft so that Hawking, who used a wheelchair due to his motor neurone disease, could go underwater. The nature of Hawking’s relationship with Epstein remains unclear, and there are no photos of the pair together.
Previous accusations
The professor was previously accused of having “participated in an underage orgy” on the island by Epstein sex trafficking accuser Virginia Giuffre, according to emails sent by the deceased paedophile.
Epstein vehemently denied the allegation, and emails suggest he directed his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to offer money to Giuffre’s friends if they could help refute the claims against Hawking.
An email dispatched from Epstein reads: “You can issue a reward to any of Virginia’s friends, acquaintances, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false.
“The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy.”
Hawking was also alleged to have visited an “all male” club with Epstein in 2011. FBI officials received an unverified tip-off in 2019 alleging the pair were with “some Russian liaisons”, according to documents released by US officials.
In 2019, the New York Times reported that Epstein had ambitions to create a superior race of humans using genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. He frequently hosted dinners, lunches and conferences, inviting prominent scientists like Hawking.
Family response
A spokesperson for the Hawking Family told the Mirror: “Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century whilst at the same time being the longest-known survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition which left him reliant on a ventilator, voice synthesiser, wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care.
“Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched in the extreme.”