A photo of the late physicist Stephen Hawking with women in bikinis has emerged in recently released files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, igniting controversy.
According to The Times and The Telegraph of Britain on the 25th (local time), the Epstein files recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice included a photo of Hawking with two women. In the image, Hawking lies on a sunbed while women in bikinis holding cocktails stand on either side of him.
The photo was reportedly taken at a science symposium on St. Thomas Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands in March 2006—five months before Epstein was charged with procuring minors for prostitution. Epstein reportedly sponsored the symposium, which was attended by 21 scientists including Hawking.
Claims have emerged that the women flanking Hawking in the photo were victims of sexual exploitation by Epstein. Philip James Peebles, a symposium attendee and 2019 Nobel Prize laureate in physics, said at the time: "The symposium was advertised as being supported by a wealthy benefactor who was interested in establishing an advanced research institute in the Virgin Islands."
He added: "At some point, pretty young women showed up, and I don't know their exact ages, but they were young." After Epstein's sexual exploitation of minors came to light, Peebles stated: "I believe those young women were people who had suffered because of Epstein."
Hawking's family, however, countered that the women were his caregivers. A spokesperson for the family said Hawking "depended on an oxygen respirator, voice synthesizer, wheelchair, and 24-hour medical care due to motor neuron disease," adding that "any suggestion that he engaged in improper behavior is wrong and extremely unconvincing."
Epstein's name reportedly appears more than 250 times in the files released by the U.S. Department of Justice.