Tina Brown Recalls Distaste for Jeffrey Epstein Dinner Invitation
Renowned magazine editor Tina Brown recently shared her shock upon receiving an invitation to a dinner party hosted by Jeffrey Epstein, alongside guests like Prince Andrew and Woody Allen. Her immediate reaction was one of disgust, exclaiming, “What the hell is this, Predators Ball?”
Brown, who led Vanity Fair in the late 1980s and later the Daily Beast, described how she found herself invited to Epstein’s home despite his 2008 conviction for sex crimes. In an interview with the New York Times, she said, “After I was convicted, I was invited to dinner. My publicist called me at the Daily Beast office and said, ‘Tina, we’d like you to come to a great dinner at Jeffrey Epstein’s house, and the other guests are Charlie Rose, Woody Allen, and Prince Andrew.’
Even as the Daily Beast was publishing articles about Epstein’s infamous past, Brown was taken aback by the invitation. “Lloyd Grove, a journalist at the Beast, reminds me every time I see him that I yelled on the phone, ‘What the hell is this, Predators Ball?’ I was furious. They didn’t seem to be reading our articles,” she recalled.
Brown firmly declined the invitation, stating, “I printed an article about this guy. No, thank you, no. I don’t want to have dinner at Jeffrey Epstein’s house.”
Her reference to “Predators Ball” pointed to a book from 1988 by Connie Brook about greed on Wall Street, highlighting her disdain for the concept.
She also mentioned having met Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice, in social circles during the 1980s and 1990s. “At the time, I didn’t understand their relationship because I never saw Epstein with her. I think Epstein was briefly in her rearview mirror when I knew her,” Brown reflected, adding that she was unaware of the dark background until much later.
Brown expressed her thoughts on Maxwell’s involvement with Epstein, suggesting she may have been angered by him and felt that her only way to gain from the association was through her complicity in his abusive actions. “You would never have known that from watching her work at the party. She deserves to rot in that prison for a long time,” Brown stated emphatically.
Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in facilitating Epstein’s exploitation of women and girls, has raised questions about potential pardons in the future. Brown speculated on the possibility of President Trump granting her a pardon. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if President Trump pardoned her upon leaving office, after MAGA is no longer a consideration. But if he did it now, I think there would be a huge uproar,” she concluded.
