Woody Allen dined and socialised with Epstein after sex conviction
WOODY ALLEN frequently dined with Jeffrey Epstein and invited the disgraced financier to film screenings after his 2008 sex offence conviction, documents show.
The Oscar-winning director, pictured, was known to be friendly with Epstein, but documents have revealed the extent of their relationship.
They show the pair often socialised together after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution with a minor.
He was required to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to 18 months in jail as part of a plea deal. Over several years, the two men planned visits to art studios, Sotheby’s auction house and film screenings together.
Allen, 87, and Epstein were scheduled to meet almost every month in 2014 and 2015, according to the documents seen by The Wall Street Journal.
Allen and his wife, Soon-yi Previn, also attended dozens of dinners at Epstein’s mansion, the newspaper reported. The late financier’s staff would sometimes order flourless chocolate cakes and bottles of Beck’s beer.
A spokesman for Allen said: “Woody and Soon-yi lived in the same neighbourhood as Epstein and were frequently invited to dinner parties at his townhouse. There were always other guests at those.” The documents suggest Allen and Epstein were friends for years. In late 2012, Allen’s assistant contacted Epstein’s to say: “Woody was wondering if Jeffrey would be interested in watching his new film today or tomorrow?” Epstein replied that he would.
In 2013, the two planned multiple trips to artist Jeff Koons’ studio, according to the documents. Koons did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment. And in October 2014, Epstein had planned for Allen to host film editing classes at the financier’s townhouse to a group of guests watching Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A spokesman told the newspaper Allen “never had a business meeting with Epstein”. She added that the director never “spent time with him [Epstein] without Soon-yi also being present”.
The documents also shed new light on the nature and frequency of Epstein’s meetings with a wide network of powerful figures long after his 2008 sex offence conviction. They include details of how Lawrence Summers, a former Treasury secretary and former Harvard University president, continued to meet Epstein even after Harvard would no longer accept his donations.
They also show Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, visited Epstein dozens of times and accepted flights on his private jet while visiting his mansions in Florida and New York.