Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist, was photographed smiling broadly next to two women holding what appeared to be colorful cocktails in a picture obtained by the Daily Mail on Tuesday. Like many of the Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the photo contained no details about when or where it was taken.
The scientist’s family claimed that the bikini-clad women with him were Hawking’s long-term carers, adding that he posed for the picture after giving a talk on quantum cosmology at a scientific symposium.
“Any suggestion of inappropriate behavior on his part is wrong”
The photo was taken in 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, a representative of Hawking’s estate reported to the British tabloid.
Epstein was also present at the event. The Hawking Estate declined to say who took the photo or explain how it became part of Epstein’s files.
“Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century and was also the longest known survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition that left him dependent on a ventilator, a voice synthesizer, a wheelchair and round-the-clock medical care. Any suggestion of misconduct on his part is wrong and far-fetched,” Hawking said in a report cited by the extreme family.
Representatives for the estate also did not respond to questions from the publication about Hawking’s friendship with Epstein or whether it was typical for his caregivers to assist him in a bathing suit at social gatherings.
Hawking, who died in March 2018 at the age of 76 after living with motor neurone disease (ALS) for more than five decades, relied on the round-the-clock care of a team of nurses for most of his adult life. Before the image was released, Justice Department officials redacted the women’s faces.
In a statement issued last month, the Justice Department said reviewers were directed to redact information only to protect victims and their families, adding that prominent figures and politicians were not protected.
A conference Epstein organized in March 2006, five months before the financier was first accused of soliciting prostitution, included Hawking and 20 other internationally renowned scientists. The event took place at the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel in St. Thomas, where rooms cost about $1,600 a night, not far from Epstein’s private island of Little Saint James.
Details of the gathering, titled The Non-Zero Energy of Empty Space, were outlined in a post on the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation blog.
It noted that attendees had the opportunity to “meet, discuss, relax on the beach and take a trip to the nearby private island retreat of scientific philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein, who funded the event.”
Attendees seemed to split their time between St. Thomas and Little Saint James, where Epstein personally hosted them. Photos that emerged in 2015 showed Hawking in a wheelchair at a barbecue rally. He was later taken on a submarine trip to explore the seabed surrounding Epstein Island.
