Who is Lisa Phillips? Epstein survivor to appear on Late Late Show
Lisa Phillips, a survivor of the abuse by paedophile and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, will appear on the Late Late Show.
Ms Phillips, the author of Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, was 21 years old when she was groomed and abused by Epstein while working as a fashion model in 2000.
Ms Phillips has since become an outspoken survivor of Epstein’s, alleging that she had met Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor while on Epstein’s island, Little St James — but admitted that, while she was groomed and regularly assaulted by Epstein, she didn’t realise the gravity of the situation until the death of her abuser in 2019.
WHO IS LISA PHILLIPS?
Lisa Phillips. Pic: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Born in Oxford, England, Ms Phillips grew up moving from place to place as her father was in the US Air Force.
She had aspirations of becoming a model, regularly doing well in modelling competitions as a teenager and eventually moving to New York as a young adult.
In 2000, she was booked for the cover of a health magazine on the British Virgin Islands, where another model on the shoot suggested that they spend their day off on Little Saint James — the island owned by Epstein.
MEETING EPSTEIN, AND ABUSE
Ms Phillips met Epstein in 2000, when she was first sexually abused by him while giving him a massage. Pic: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Ms Phillips and the model friend took a boat to Little Saint James, with her meeting the financier for the first time over dinner, where he asked about her life and modelling aspirations.
When he learned that she was born in Oxford, Epstein allegedly asked her if she ‘wanted to meet a prince,’ where she was understood to have been briefly introduced to the then Duke of York, Prince Andrew.
‘I remember that was kind of impressive to me, and we snickered about it later… “wow, a prince was here,”‘ Ms Phillips would tell the Guardian.
While she said that Epstein was ‘very charismatic’ and gave ‘great advice’ regarding her modelling career, she said that things took a turn when a person knocked on the room she was staying in, saying that Epstein was ‘ready’ for his massage.
‘I was like: “What massage? What’s going on? I don’t want to massage somebody.” It was just weird,’ before she was told by her friend that ‘we kind of have to.’ Epstein would go on to sexually assault them that night during the massage, the first of many incidents.
FURTHER GROOMING AND ABUSE
Ms Phillips was assaulted by Epstein numerous times, and had been placed in meetings with movie and modelling executives by Epstein — who would also sexually assault her. Pic: Andres Poveda
After ignoring calls from Epstein for a number of months, Ms Phillips eventually learned that he had arranged a meeting between her and a top modelling agency via his connections.
Initially thinking it was Epstein’s way of apologising to her for the initial assault, Ms Phillips reconnected with him, where he would set up meetings between her and film producers — who would also sexually assault her.
She would also meet up monthly with Epstein in the office of his Manhattan mansion, where she would be regularly abused by the financier.
‘It was kind of like a mentoring moment – it was always a learning experience,’ she said. ‘Sometimes you think: “He’s not going to do anything this time, thank God.” But Jeffrey just had this appetite – he was seeing six to eight girls a day. It was confusing.’
She eventually realised something was wrong when she was being propositioned by Epstein to high-profile people who had nothing to do with modelling or acting, with her eventually confronting Epstein when a friend of hers said that she was told to go into a room where a high-profile person was to have sex with him.
THE EPSTEIN FILES
Ms Phillips will appear on the Late Late Show on Friday night, via a pre-recorded interview. Pic: Andres Poveda
Following the latest info dump surrounding the so-called ‘Epstein files,’ Ms Phillips said that the release had ‘re-traumatised’ her and claimed that people are still being shielded by the US Attorney General, Pam Bondi.
‘This is the worst re-traumatisation I’ve experienced since last year,’ Ms Phillips said, before adding that while over 3.5million files have been released, the Department of Justice have continued to withhold millions.
‘We want the full files and names [of alleged Epstein accomplices] revealed,’ she said. ‘For me, justice is about exposing the sex-trafficking rings so they can no longer do harm.’
Ms Phillips is set to appear on the Late Late Show this Friday via a pre-recorded video, where she’ll discuss how she was drawn into Epstein’s orbit, the powerful figures she encountered, and her ongoing mission to expose perpetrators and seek justice.
