The latest release of the Epstein files by the US Justice Department has drawn attention to Stephen Hawking, the British scientist known for his work in theoretical physics and cosmology.
Hawking, who made significant contributions to our understanding of black holes and the Big Bang, is referenced at least 250 times in the documents.
Highlights
- Stephen Hawking is referenced over 250 times in the recently released Epstein files.
- A viral photo, believed to have been taken in 2006, shows the British scientist with two bikini-clad women.
- The photo raised questions about Hawking's behavior, given Epstein's indictment for trafficking minors.
While being named in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, the documents from the investigation into the disgraced financier shed light on his powerful social connections.
Stephen Hawking’s family has addressed the photo of him with two women that was released as part of the Epstein files
Image credits: David Silverman/Getty Images
In the documents unsealed this month, Hawking is pictured with two bikini-clad women holding cocktails as he lounges on a sunbed.
The image is believed to have been taken in 2006 on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, located near Epstein’s notorious private island, Little Saint James.
A family member of the late physicist told The Post that the women in the photo were his regular caretakers, employed to provide 24-hour care for him.
Image credits: DOJ
“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 synthesizer, wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care,” his family told the outlet.
“Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched in the extreme.”
For most of his life, Hawking was paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare neurodegenerative disease he was diagnosed with in 1963 when he was 21.
The British astrophysicist is named more than 200 times in the documents from the investigation into Epstein’s activities
Image credits: Fred Duval/FilmMagic
Many people were not convinced by his family’s explanation, claiming Hawking’s links to Epstein were suspicious given the financier’s subsequent arrest for s*x trafficking.
“As a carer, I never go to work in a bikini,” one netizen shared.
"That's a long explanation for someone who didn't do anything sketchy,” said another skeptic.
“The final frontier for him,” added a third.
“Well his family are hardly going to say he was there for a big bang are they!” quipped a separate user.
Image credits: DOJ
“Ahh, the deleted scenes from his biopic,” another user said, referencing the 2014 film The Theory of Everything.
Meanwhile, others defended the scientist and were more cautious about jumping to conclusions about his ties to Epstein. “People will only believe what they want to believe,” one person commented.
"There’s no way he could have touched anyone and like his family said, he had carers. What are they meant to wear in hot climates woolly jumpers?” asked an additional netizen.
Hawking never faced any accusations regarding his ties to the New York financier
Image credits: DOJ
Hawking was among a group of scientists who attended a conference funded and hosted by Epstein at his private island in March 2006, two years before the financier was convicted of soliciting a minor for pr*stitution.
Photos from the five-day physics conference show the renowned scientist at a barbecue and on a submarine tour of the seabed around Epstein's island.
Epstein had the vessel specially modified for Hawking, who had never been underwater before, according to The Mirror.
Image credits: DOJ
In an email sent by Epstein to his associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, in 2015, the financier suggested offering a “reward” to anyone close to Virginia Giuffre who could help refute her allegation that Hawking had participated in an "underage *rgy" in the Virgin Islands.
He wrote, "You can issue a reward to any of virginias 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 isalnds that stven [sic] hawking particpated in an underage *rgy."
Hawking attended a conference funded by Epstein but was never pictured with him
Image credits: Mike Marsland/Getty Images
Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life last year, accused Epstein and Maxwell of forcing her to sleep with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, when she was underage.
The new documents also include a suggestion from a lawyer for Giuffre that Bill Clinton "may have information" on Maxwell and Epstein's activities because the politician had traveled with them.
Giuffre never made any public accusations against Bill Clinton or Stephen Hawking.
The English physicist passed away in 2018, one year before Epstein was arrested on s*x trafficking charges.
Image credits: DOJ
Epstein, who was found lifeless in his jail cell before his trial, was also reportedly close to other academics, including mathematician and geneticist Eric Lander. The files also show communication between the New York financier and Harvard physics professor Lisa Randall, who also once flew on his private jet.
Neither academic has been accused of wrongdoing.
Three million pages, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation were released publicly by the Department of Justice on February 2. Other high-profile figures named in the files include Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Naomi Campbell, Sarah Ferguson, and Bill Gates.
People remained skeptical about the explanation provided by Stephen Hawking’s family regarding the newly released photo
