How Vanity Fair’s 2003 Epstein Profile Sparked a Decade-Long Controversy Over Omitted Abuse Allegations

In 2002, journalist Vicky Ward—then a writer for Vanity Fair magazine—was assigned to investigate Jeffrey Epstein, a mysterious New York City financier. During her reporting, she uncovered sexual abuse allegations against Epstein by Maria and Annie Farmer. Their account was ultimately excluded from Ward’s piece, titled The Talented Mr. Epstein.

This decision ignited a decade-long dispute between Ward and then–Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. Carter has stated in past interviews that Ward’s reporting did not meet the magazine’s editorial standards and that the allegations arrived too late in the editing process. Ward, however, claims Vanity Fair omitted the Farmer sisters’ account after Epstein personally pressured Carter to remove it.

“I’ve since been asked if Tina Brown or any other woman had been an editor at Vanity Fair at the time, do I think the Farmer sisters’ allegations would have run? The answer to that is absolutely yes.” — Vicky Ward, speaking to More To The Story host Al Letson

The Farmer sisters later went public with their accusations. Epstein’s pattern of abuse persisted until he was indicted for sex trafficking. On a recent episode of More To The Story, Ward revisited the editorial decisions surrounding her 2003 Vanity Fair profile, the role of Ghislaine Maxwell in Epstein’s crimes, and her reflections on the circumstances of his death.

Following the interview, More To The Story reached out to Maria and Annie Farmer for comment. Portions of their response appear in the episode, with their full statement available here:

“We trusted Vicky Ward with our firsthand accounts of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes. She chose to omit our experiences and instead, in 2003, published a Vanity Fair article that sanitized, shielded, and even enhanced his reputation. She then published another glowing profile on Epstein in 2011. Articles like Ward’s allowed Epstein and Maxwell to continue targeting other young women and girls with the same abuse for decades afterward.”

In response, Ward issued the following statement:

“This is obviously very sad to read, and I understand Maria and Annie’s frustrations and disappointment. I have already apologized to them in my podcast series Chasing Ghislaine and I stand by that. I wish I could have gotten their allegations into the 2003 story for Vanity Fair. I was as disappointed as they were that their allegations were cut from the article, which is why I reached out to them again in 2015, and with their permission told the story of what had happened inside the magazine. I would not have rehashed all this in public, had they not wanted me to, and had I not hoped to reverse a travesty that should never have happened—and ensure it never happened again. I also understand that the internal politics inside Vanity Fair are small-fry, compared with what Maria and Annie have suffered, and I wish them nothing but the best.”

For support, contact RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE.