US First Lady Melania Trump has issued a rare and unplanned public address from the White House, firmly rejecting claims linking her to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a direct and strongly worded statement on Thursday afternoon, she said: “I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998.”
The First Lady also sought to shut down ongoing speculation surrounding her past, adding: “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”
Addressing longstanding rumours, Melania Trump insisted she had no relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, saying she had only ever had a casual correspondence with Maxwell. “I’ve never been friends with Epstein,” she added.
She also pushed back against claims circulating online, warning the public about misinformation. “Fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe: these images and stories are completely false.”
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The former model reiterated that she met Donald Trump independently, stating that their relationship began in 1998 at a New York party, before she had ever encountered Epstein. The couple later married in 2005. While modelling agent Paolo Zampolli has previously claimed he introduced them, the First Lady’s account emphasises a chance meeting.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of renewed attention on the Epstein case, following the release of further documents by the US Justice Department. Among the files is a 2002 email from Ms Trump to Ghislaine Maxwell regarding a magazine feature on Epstein, which read: “You look great.”
Photographs have also previously emerged showing Donald Trump and Melania Trump alongside Epstein and Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, though she stressed these encounters did not indicate any deeper relationship.
In her address, she went further in distancing herself from the scandal, stating: “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island.”
She added: “I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors and other repulsive behaviour.”
In a notable moment during the address, the First Lady also suggested that Epstein did not act alone, stating he did not work “alone”, and called for greater transparency around the case. She urged Congress to hold a public hearing for survivors of Epstein’s abuse, saying it would “give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath.”
Her comments prompted a response from two of Epstein’s accusers, sisters Maria Farmer and Annie Farmer, who said in a statement to US media: “We can't speak for other survivors, but what we want is accountability, transparency and justice.” They also called for the release of additional records held by authorities, including full FBI files.
Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking minors, died later that year in a Manhattan jail cell. His death was officially ruled a suicide, though it has remained the subject of widespread scrutiny and conspiracy theories.
It remains unclear what prompted Melania Trump to deliver the unexpected address, particularly given her typically low public profile. The First Lady has rarely made statements of this nature during her time in the White House, and her intervention has raised questions about why she chose to address the issue now.
Her appearance comes just days after she was last seen publicly alongside Donald Trump at the annual Easter Egg Roll, an event attended by hundreds of children on the White House grounds.
With renewed attention on the Epstein case and continued speculation online, her statement appears aimed at drawing a clear line under persistent rumours — while also calling for broader accountability in one of the most high-profile scandals in recent years.
