Late Stephen Hawking’s Family Address Photo of Him With Women in Epstein Files

Stephen Hawking, the late professor, astrophysicist and author who lived with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), has appeared in the latest batch of Epstein files.

A questionable photo of Hawking, who died in March 2018 at age 76, was recently discovered in the files after over 3 million documents from the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released by the Department of Justice on January 30.

A preliminary search of his name in the digital Epstein files library yields at least 250 results, and the photo that has made headlines features the professor lounging on a chair outdoors while he and two women in bikinis (whose faces have been redacted) appear to be holding tropical cocktails.

While many details of the photo remain unclear — including who took the picture, the identities of the women and why they are lounging outside — it has been reported that the renowned academic had ties to Epstein.

A representative of Hawking’s estate told the Daily Mail on Wednesday, February 25, that the photo was taken at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas in 2006. They claimed that the females in the photo were “long-term carers from the U.K.” for Hawking, who lived in a wheelchair.

Hawking’s family said that the photo was taken after he delivered a speech on Quantum Cosmology at a science symposium, at which the late financier was also in attendance.

The estate declined to say who took the photo nor offer any more context related to its appearance in the files.

According to British newspaper The Times, emails from the Epstein estate previously released by the DOJ included unsubstantiated claims by the late Virginia Giuffre that Hawking had been accused of “participating in an underage orgy.”

“Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century while at the same time being the longest-known survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition which left him reliant on a ventilator, voice synthesiser, wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care,” a spokesperson for the Hawking family told the Daily Mail in a statement.

“Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched in the extreme,” the spokesperson added.

Hawking — who has not been accused of a crime — is among the many celebrities and high-profile figures to come under scrutiny for being mentioned in the Epstein files.