Ricky Gervais Jeffrey Epstein Clip Goes Viral After List Released

Footage of Ricky Gervais taking aim at the rich and famous for their ties to Jeffrey Epstein has gone viral, after many of the names of former associates, employees, friends and victims of the deceased sex offender were released.

The names were unsealed from a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, an alleged trafficking victim, against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend. Maxwell, 62, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in December 2021 of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.

Many of those whose names appear in the documents released on Wednesday aren't accused of wrongdoing or have been mentioned previously in legal proceedings or news accounts. Despite persistent assertions across social media, the documents released on Wednesday are not an Epstein "client list."

In December, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska found no legal justification for continuing to withhold the names of as many as 175 individuals allegedly connected with Epstein, ordering the unsealing to begin from January 1.

Some portions of the records will remain confidential, including those identifying people who were children when they were sexually abused by Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019 in a federal prison in Manhattan as he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.

With the release of the names including a number of celebrities, a clip of comedian Gervais taking swipes at celebrities while hosting the 2020 Golden Globe Awards has been shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

As he stood before the crowd gathered in Beverly Hills to toast TV and movie talent, five-time host Gervais said: "In this room are some of the most important TV and film executives in the world, from all different backgrounds. But they all have one thing in common—they're all terrified of Ronan Farrow. He's coming for you!"

Farrow, son of Mia Farrow, worked a number of exposés on Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct. Disgraced movie producer Weinstein was last February sentenced to 16 years in prison after he was found guilty of committing sex crimes in Los Angeles County. He has been ordered to serve the sentence on the completion of his 23-year term behind bars from his sexual assault conviction in New York.

During his Golden Globes speech, Gervis stated that "everyone's watching Netflix" over movies at theaters. After mocking the Golden Globes broadcast, Gervis advised viewers to switch off and watch his Netflix comedy, Afterlife.

"You can binge watch the entire first season of Afterlife," he told the audience. "That's a show about a man who wants to kill himself after his wife dies of cancer. It has a second season though, so he obviously doesn't kill himself in the end—just like Jeffrey Epstein."

As laughs and gasps were heard coming from the well-heeled attendees gathered at the Beverly Hilton, Gervais quipped: "I know he's your friend. But I don't care."

Relentless Podcast host Kyle Becker shared the clip on X, late Wednesday, where as of press time it has garnered more than 6 million views. Becker erroneously labeled Gervais' speech as having taken place at the Oscars.

"Remember Hollywood elites' nervous laughter at the Oscars when Ricky Gervais joked about the Epstein list?" Becker wrote. "Now we all know why. This is glorious."

The footage included cutaways to such audience members as Cate Blanchett, who was named in the unsealed documents, and a seemingly shocked Tom Hanks, who for some time has been falsely tied to Epstein on social media.

In recent years, a faction of social media users have pushed the theory that several celebrities and public figures—often known to be Democrats—flew to Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St. James.

Epstein's private jet, which was used to transport guests to the island, was derisively called the "Lolita Express" by certain media outlets following allegations that it was used to fly underage girls to some of the late financier's properties.

Following Epstein's death, lists have been shared on social media purporting to show the high-profile people who had visited the island, which is located east of Puerto Rico in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Hanks' name has been erroneously added to the mix of Epstein's guests by some social media users who have falsely targeted a number of celebrities as part of an apparent campaign to link them to Epstein's crimes.

Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruce Willis are among the celebrities whose names were mentioned in the testimony of one alleged victim, who said that Epstein bragged about them while name-dropping, although no evidence was provided that the stars even knew him. The alleged victim was asked if she had met Cameron Diaz, to which she responded "no."

Among the other celebrities and public figures who were named in the unsealed files are Naomi Campbell, Bill Clinton, David Copperfield, Alan Dershowitz, Stephen Hawking, Michael Jackson, Kevin Spacey, and Donald Trump.

Giuffre has alleged that Maxwell arranged for the then 17-year-old to have sex with Epstein and other prominent men, including Prince Andrew. The British royal has denied the allegations and settled with Giuffre out of court in February 2022.

Giuffre has also alleged that she was directed to have sex with former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, the late fashion and modeling director Jean-Luc Brunel, billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, and the then governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson.

Bloomberg reported in August 2019 that Richardson, who died in September 2023, said he had never met Giuffre. The outlet reported that he called the allegations "completely false" and said that during his limited interactions with Epstein, he had never seen him in the presence of underage girls.

In the same article, Mitchell told Bloomberg in a statement that the allegation is false. He said he never met, spoke with, or had contact with Giuffre, or knew of or suspected that Epstein had inappropriate conduct with underage girls.

Dubin and his wife, Eva, called the allegations "demonstrably false and defamatory." In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, also in August 2019, a spokesperson said: "The Dubins have flight records and other evidence that definitively disprove that any such events occurred."

Clinton has maintained that he did not have any contact with Epstein after he was accused of sex crimes, and never visited his private island of Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is no indication that the sealed records contain sign of any wrongdoing on Clinton's part.

A spokesperson for the former president previously reiterated his July 2019 statement to Newsweek.

"President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York," the statement said.

The statement confirmed Clinton had flown on Epstein's plane along with his staff and added: "He's not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James island."

During Maxwell's 2021 trial, it was revealed that Trump had flown several times on Epstein's jet in the 1990s. Over the years, Trump has distanced himself from Epstein. After Epstein's 2019 arrest, the then-president said he only knew Epstein because "everybody in Palm Beach" did.

"I had a falling out with him. I haven't spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you," he said.

But earlier on, he offered more complimentary words toward his former friend.

"I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy," Trump told New York magazine in 2002. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."