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Stephen Hawking's family breaks silence on photo of women pictured with professor in bikinis in Epstein files
The family of Stephen Hawking has spoken out after a picture included in the Epstein files showed the late world-renowned scientist alongside two women in bikinis.
The undated image, taken in 2006, shows the British theoretical physicist reclining as he enjoys a cocktail, with two unnamed women. All three are holding drinks, and one of the women appears to steady Hawking’s glass.
The photo sparked speculation online, but Hawking’s loved ones are now pushing back hard against what they describe as baseless "insinuations".
Hawking's Family Hits Back
A spokesperson for the Hawking family told the Mirror: "Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century while 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," they added.
The response follows renewed scrutiny of millions of emails and documents released by the US Department of Justice as part of its investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Why Hawking Was In The Virgin Islands
The photograph was taken during a science symposium at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, St Thomas, in 2006, where Hawking gave a speech on quantum cosmology.
The late academic was among 21 preeminent scientists who attended a conference hosted by Epstein on his Little St James Island and the nearby St Thomas in 2006.
According to the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, in 2012, guests met to “discuss, relax on the beach, and take a trip to the nearby private island retreat” during the event “to determine what the consensus is, if any, for defining gravity," per The Independent.
Hawking was snapped on several occasions during the trip. A picture released in 2015 showed him in his wheelchair at an outdoor dinner on Little Saint James with several other people.
Another image showed the cosmologist being given a tour of the island’s seabed from inside a submarine.
Epstein had reportedly modified the underwater vessel so Hawking, who used a wheelchair because of his motor neurone disease, could take the journey.
Despite the various photos, the scientist and the disgraced financier were not pictured together at any point.
Mentions In The Epstein Files
The Cambridge professor, who died in 2018 aged 76, is referenced at least 250 times in the millions of emails and documents released by the DOJ.
Being mentioned in the files does not amount to an accusation of any wrongdoing, and Hawking has never been accused of any crimes.
However, one 2015 email has drawn attention. In a poorly-written message sent by Epstein to his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier suggested giving a financial reward to any friends or family of Virginia Giuffre who could help disprove an allegation that Hawking had participated in an "underage orgy" in the Virgin Islands.
He wrote: "You can issue a reward to any of Virginia's friends acquaionts [sic] 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 stven hawking particpated in an underage orgy." [sic]
Giuffre did not make any public accusations of this kind about Hawking before her death last year, and Epstein's email is the only recorded mention of such an allegation.