Inside Stephen Hawking’s controversial past: the late Cambridge physicist was named on Jeffrey Epstein’s list alongside Donald Trump – but he’s not been accused of any crime

Jan 13 , 2024

The late Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking appeared on Jeffrey Epstein’s list recently, raising eyebrows. Photo: @mvdhav/X

Hawking will be remembered for his scientific breakthroughs around black holes and the universe, so why was he recently named on the Jeffrey Epstein list alongside Prince Andrew and dozens more?

A 2015 email sent to Epstein’s then-accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell reveals the physicist might have participated in an orgy – and the internet has been on fire with viral memes

Stephen Hawking will forever be remembered for his scientific breakthroughs around black holes and the universe, but an unfortunate circumstance has brought the late theoretical physicist back into the limelight. It’s raised some eyebrows, and even kicked off a slew of memes across the internet.

British astrophysicist Dr Stephen Hawking answers newsmen with the help of his computer and the assistance of his then wife Jane, in Paris, in 1989. Photo: AP Photo

Hawking, who died in 2018 at age 76, is one of about 150 names to be included in the recently unsealed documents with links to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Although being on the list does not mean there are any allegations of wrongdoings being made against the individual, it certainly does prompt some questions on the why and how those mentioned have anything to do with the paedophile Epstein.

Other high-profile stars like Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and the late Michael Jackson were also named in the documents.

So what did Hawking have to do with Epstein – and what other controversies did he encounter during his lifetime? Here’s what we know.

Why is Stephen Hawking on the Jeffrey Epstein list?

British scientist Stephen Hawking attends the launch of The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at the University of Cambridge, in October 2016. Photo: AFP

According to The Guardian, the late Cambridge physicist was mentioned in a 2015 email. In the email, Epstein asked his then-accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell (who’s now in jail) to “issue a reward” to any of Epstein’s alleged victim Virginia Giuffre’s friends, family and acquaintances to disprove Giuffre’s allegations, including those made against Hawking. “The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Steven Hawking participated in an underage orgy,” the email said.

Per The Guardian, Hawking has not been accused of any crime relating to Epstein. People reported that the claim of an “orgy” took place in the Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home.

Did Stephen Hawking ever visit Epstein’s island?

Stephen Hawking visited Jeffrey Epstein’s island in the Caribbean in 2006. Photo: AP Photo

Several reports have suggested that Hawking did visit Epstein island. Per Sky News and The Independent, the A Brief History of Time author visited the convicted sex offender’s private Caribbean island for a science conference trip to St Thomas in 2006.