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An August 1998 interview of British business magnate Richard Branson and Mexican actress Salma Jayek with Conon O'Brien resurfaced on the internet following allegations of Branson's s*x tapes in the newly released Epstein documents.
Trigger warning: The following article talks about s*x trafficking, s*xual harassment, pr*stitution, and su*cide, which may be disturbing to some. Readers' discretion is advised.
In the interview, Richard Branson, then 48, walked in after his introduction and made a beeline to sit on Salma Hayek, then 32. He immediately got up and forced a resisting Hayek onto his lap. Amid her protests of having a boyfriend, he doesn't let her go for a few seconds.
This old interview is making rounds on the internet, with several netizens reacting with disgust. One person commented under the video shared by @maybeinterestin on X and called Richard Branson a "dirty old goat."
The newly unsealed tranche of documents from the 2015 defamation lawsuit by one of Epstein's alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's partner and "right-hand woman," brings new information.
One document reportedly shows a letter written by Sarah Ransome, another alleged Epstein victim, to a journalist in 2016, where she claimed that Epstein had alleged s*x tapes of Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and Prince Andrew.
Netizens are disgusted by an old interview of Richard Branson with Salma Hayek
Following the news of the alleged s*x tapes, netizens dug up old videos of Branson. The unearthed interview of Richard Branson forcing Salma Hayek to sit on his lap left the internet with a sour taste in its mouth. Here are some of the reactions on X:
This is not the first time Richard Branson has been accused of inappropriate behavior. According to The Independent, the founder of the Virgin Group of companies was accused by singer Antonia Jenae of burying his face in her cleavage at a party on Necker Island in 2010.
Speaking to The Sun, the singer said she was "shocked" by the alleged incident, which was "totally out of the blue." She added:
“His behavior was disgusting.”
Richard Branson claimed he had "no recollection" of the alleged incident.
The newly released court documents claim that Epstein had s*x tapes of Richard Branson
The new trove of court documents unsealed on January 8 brought forth more harrowing details about Jeffrey Epstein's high-profile s*x trafficking ring. One document reportedly highlighted letters sent by alleged victim Sarah Ransome to investigative journalist Maureen Callahan in 2016.
In the alleged letters, Ransome claimed that Epstein had s*x tapes of Richard Branson, Prince Andrew, and Bill Clinton.
According to The Independent, Ransome alleged that her friend had sent her the "explicit footage" that "clearly identifies" the face of the men in the video.
“Thank God she [Ransome' friend] managed to get ahold of some footage of the filmed s*x tapes, which clearly identify the faces of Clinton, Prince Andrew and Branson having s*xual intercourse with her,” she said, adding, “Frustratingly enough, Epstein was not seen in any of the footage but he was clever like that!"
Ransome claimed that she had made several copies of the videos and vowed to release the footage, allegedly writing:
“I will also make sure that everyone on the God damn planet see’s [sic] that footage and photo’s [sic] and will release them to Wiki leaks [sic] by Sunday. I will take down Epstein and his bunch of f*** wit cronies myself!!!!!!!!!! I have also gone to a Russian newspaper.”
In another email, Ransome retracted her claims, saying that she feared "bad things" would happen if she didn't. Following her claims of the alleged s*x tapes, Alan Dershowitz's legal team wrote a letter to the court claiming that Ransome "lacked credibility." They claimed her emails were,
“A necessary antidote to Ms Ransome’s deposition misstatements because they demonstrate she manifestly lacks credibility”.
According to The Independent, a Virgin Group spokesperson released a statement on behalf of Richard Branson following the recent allegations. The statement read:
“In a New Yorker report published in 2019, Ransome admitted that she had ‘invented’ the tapes. We can confirm that Sarah Ransome’s claims are baseless and unfounded.”
After the lawsuit settlement in 2017, the documents were kept under lock and key. As per The Independent, The Miami Herald sued for the documents to be released, and a trove of 2000-page documents were released in 2019.
On December 18, 2023, US Judge Loretta Preska ordered the remaining sealed and redacted documents to be released on January 3, 2024. The previously sealed documents named all the associates as "John Does" and "Jane Does."
The infamous "Epstein Client List" named several prominent men, including Bill Clinton, Stephen Hawking, Richard Branson, Prince Andrew, and Tom Pritzker, as Epstein's associates. Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving her 20-year sentence for child s*x trafficking. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his prison cell awaiting trial for s*x trafficking and pr*stitution of young girls.
