The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has privately apologized to her friend Jeffrey Epstein just a month after publicly denouncing him as a convicted sex offender. Leaked emails obtained by the Mail on Sunday show that Ferguson told Epstein she never called him a paedophile in an earlier interview and suggested she disassociated herself from him to protect her career.
Ferguson had previously admitted to her involvement with Epstein, saying it was a “gigantic error of judgment”, and promised to have nothing to do with him again. However, the emails suggest that she wrote to Epstein on April 26, apologizing for hurting his feelings and stating she did not call him a paedophile.
The Duchess had been advised to make the comments to protect her writing career and charity work from potential backlash after Epstein threatened to sue her for defamation over her public denouncement of him. Ferguson’s team has since confirmed that she stands by her public condemnation of Epstein, saying she was misled by his lies and immediately cut off contact with him upon learning of the allegations against him.
Despite the apology, Ferguson’s association with Epstein remains a subject of controversy, with critics accusing her of hypocrisy for later apologizing to him while publicly condemning him.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/sarah-ferguson-apologised-to-jeffrey-epstein-after-disowning-him-leaked-emails-suggest