Fact Check: Was Taylor Swift photographed with Jeffrey Epstein? Viral photo debunked

It is not Jeffrey Epstein in the viral photo (Image via Taylor Swift Switzerland / Facebook / Jeffrey Epstein)

On January 4, 2024, a picture reportedly featuring the pop singer Taylor Swift and the convicted s*x offender, Jeffrey Epstein, was posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). This occurred shortly before the court documents tying several people—some of whom were quite well-known—to Jeffrey Epstein were made public.

According to the Google Translator, the description of the post read,
“The best thing about the Epstein case is seeing how people who attacked Kanye West turned out to be pedophiles, like Taylor Swift. The world is putting the pieces into place.”

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However, the image is not of Jeffrey Epstein but of Monte Lipman, the CEO of Republic Records, which is an American record label.

Taylor Swift’s recent viral photo is not with Jeffrey Epstein but with Monte Lipman

Contrary to what the image suggested, Swift was not with Epstein (Image via Facebook / Taylor Swift / Restoration of America)

A recent photo of Taylor appeared on X that showed her sitting close to a man who appeared to be the s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to the caption of the photo, it claimed that the individuals who criticized Kanye West turned out to be p*dophiles, just like Taylor Swift.

The photo went viral as soon as it was made available to the public. The image was posted on another X (formerly known as Twitter) account along with the following caption:
“Here is a photo of when Taylor visited Epstein in 2004.”
This viral photo is misleading (Image via X / @eduuxqs)

Additionally, the picture was also published on Reddit along with the caption,

“Did y’all know Taylor Swift was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein?”

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Nevertheless, the picture is of Monte Lipman, the CEO of Republic Records, not of Jeffrey Epstein. According to Snopes and other sources, the author of the post made a remark online claiming that Epstein was not in the photo. The statement said,

“I saw the pic on r/taylorswift and didn’t read the title and for a horrifying second, I genuinely thought that was Epstein.”
The same source has claimed that reverse-image search findings indicated that the photo was initially shared on December 6, 2021, ruling out that it was Epstein. as he died by suicide in jail in 2019 while he was awaiting prosecution.

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The image was posted on social media in December 2021. The comment said that Taylor was posing with Monte Lipman, the CEO of American record label Republic Records, rather than with Jeffrey Epstein.

Moreover, the man in the photo was recognized as Lipman by a website called Taylor Swift Switzerland, which is maintained by a fan of the singer.

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The website also mentioned Taylor’s Instagram post from November 2018 in which she praised Republic founder and CEO Monte Lipman as well as chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Sir Lucian Grainge as “incredible partners.”

Jeffrey Epstein’s name has surfaced once more recently, coinciding with the impending release of the list of his associates’ names. There are well-known figures names on the list, including Bill Clinton.

It has been established now that the man with Taylor in the photo is not Jeffrey Epstein.