Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Richdoesn’t pull any punches.
Did you face a similar resistance in getting distribution?
It’s something that doesn’t translate all that well to TV.
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So it was difficult.
We wanted people to see that and be angry about it, and hopefully that can provoke change.
This is the first that many of these survivors have gone on record.
How did you persuade them to cooperate for a documentary series?
There was no persuading.
We were surprised at how forthcoming they were.
We wanted to let them drive the narrative, it’s their story to tell.
The attorneys got on board right away.
We were not going to be shut down.
You explain how Epstein became a multi-millionaire.
I was still left unclear how he made the jump to being a billionaire.
Are there still questions about how he got as wealthy as he did?
I don’t know if he was, in fact, a true billionaire.
He certainly billed himself as a billionaire.
We know he’s a multi-multi-multimillionaire.
But Epstein managed to steal him blind.
One of the popular Epstein conspiracy theories is he was secretly an intelligence agent for a foreign government.
Of course, after his death, it only fueled them even more.
But conspiracy theories are just what they are, conspiracy theories.
There’s a certain amount of implication there.
Did you find any evidence that either man did anything improper with the women Epstein was trafficking?
We don’t have concrete proof of any wrongdoing.
There’s no proof that they were in his orbit recently.
We had a couple of witnesses that saw him [on Epstein’s island] Clinton.
What do you think was his motivation for seemingly helping Epstein?
I think Epstein’s team of powerful attorneys were more influential.
And that is unfortunately what happened in that case.
So I think it wasn’t just Alex Acosta’s sole decision.
I think there was a lot of intimidation going on in this story.
Was there anything that you had to leave out due to legal vetting?
There’s always a little bit, but I can’t go into too many specifics.
But I think that we managed to report more than most people have.
I feel good that we were able to tell the truth based on our facts and our reporting.
We also have found some evidence on Prince Andrew through one of [Epstein’s] employees.
We all know about Prince Andrew’sdisastrous BBC interview.
We were with his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, two days later.
She was devastated by what she felt was his mistruth and not owning up to anything at all.
So I think that’s a new revelation that isn’t going to go over well for him.
It’s not [released on Netflix] yet.
But these reviews and things are starting to come out.
They don’t even know if they are in it.
So it’s interesting how the high-powered people are still trying to influence the media here.
And it’s not gonna happen.
I can’t say.
But it’s been very interesting.
There have been people firmly saying Epstein died by suicide, and others firmly speculating he did not.
The documentary seems to tip toward the idea that he didn’t.
What’s your personal opinion on that?
I don’t have a personal opinion.
There are a lot of people who wanted him dead.
So there are arguments either way.
You mention at the end that Epstein’s assets were sealed off from any restitution to the survivors.
What happens to all his money now?
There is a fight for that.
I think it’s going to take some time.
There’s a fight now happening over the estate.
Hopefully, they will get the money they’re entitled to.
WasFilthy Richalways the title, or did that evolve along the way?
It was actuallyThe Florida Projectfor the longest time.
We started long before people really knew about him.
This was in production nine months before he was arrested and became an international household name.
It really threw our production in a loop.
We took great precautions in the beginning because he was still alive.
We worked with a secret server.
We had cameras in our room.
We had to safeguard our media because his people are known for hacking computers.
Have they seen the series yet?
They’re getting an advanced copy.
We don’t normally ever do that as journalists, as you know.
But because it’s sensitive material, we feel like it’s the right thing to do.
So we are going to give him an opportunity to see it before the whole world does.
What’s your hope for the survivors moving forward?
There’s a fight to overturn his plea deal, which protects these co-conspirators right now.
So there’s some legal maneuvering that has to happen.
Nobody really knows where [Epstein associate] Ghislaine Maxwell is.
Some of these other named co-conspirators …
I’m sure they’re very nervous.
But at the same time, the FBI has to take their time.
Are you planning to produce any additional content?
If Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested tomorrow, would we make a run at do something?
Probably, but I don’t know.
There are things that are still happening.
Every few weeks there’s some legal action.
We’re certainly keeping it on our radar.
