Virginia Giuffre has claimed in her posthumous memoir that ABC News refused to air a 2019 interview with her because the royal family "applied pressure to nix the interview". The memoir alleges the American broadcaster "feared losing access" to Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Ms Giuffre's book, titled Nobody's Girl, details her allegations that she was "trafficked" to Prince Andrew. She claims ABC News anchor Amy Robach conducted the sit-down interview but it was never broadcast despite being completed.
According to the memoir, Ms Giuffre was "strung along for weeks" without explanation after the interview was recorded. The book states that ABC "had to reach out to Buckingham Palace" following the interview, though the reason for delays remained unclear.
The hot mic revelation
Ms Giuffre writes that network officials told her legal team the broadcaster needed to contact both Buckingham Palace and an attorney for Jeffrey Epstein after she discussed being trafficked to Prince Andrew. She claims "Robach and her producer were outraged" but "ABC never aired the interview".
The memoir references a November 2019 "hot mic" recording of Amy Robach that became public. In that recording, Robach reportedly said she was told by higher-ups "Who's Jeffrey Epstein? No-one knows who that is. This is a stupid story" and expressed frustration that her interview didn't air.
Ms Giuffre writes that Robach said she was getting "more and more pissed" that the interview didn't air and described what they had as "unreal". The memoir claims Robach said "Epstein's lawyers and the British royal family had applied pressure to nix the interview, suggesting that the network caved because it feared losing access to Prince William and Kate Middleton in the future".
Prince Andrew settlement
Prince Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing after Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with the prince on three separate occasions. The prince claims never to have met Ms Giuffre.
He paid millions to settle a civil claim with his accuser in the United States in 2022. The settlement amount was not disclosed publicly.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment regarding the memoir's allegations about royal pressure on ABC News.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
