Prince Andrew had to fork over a TON of cash to settle his sexual assault lawsuit, which was brought forth by accuser Virginia Giuffre. And for the first time since the case closed last February, we’re getting all the details that led up to the Duke of York giving up the fight!
As Perezcious readers and anglophiles alike know, Virginia’s suit alleged she was sex trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with the 63-year-old multiple times — including when she was just 17 (which he allegedly was well aware of). Andrew tried to get the case dismissed but didn’t have any luck. After lots of denying the allegations, he suddenly gave in and agreed to a settlement last year (without apologizing for anything). A gag order was then put in place for a year… but time’s up and the accusers are already starting to talk! First up, Virginia’s lawyer!
Related: Associate Of Sarah Ferguson Accused Of Funding Sex Trafficking Ring!
In a conversation with DailyMail.com on Tuesday, David Boies revealed Queen Elizabeth II‘s son went from “stonewalling us to a deal in four or five days,” followed by a day or two of mediation. David believes Andrew changed his mind after suffering a series of legal losses, such as being ordered to sit for a deposition, since a week before he was set to spill his guts for the court, Andrew threw in the towel. The parties then got to talking, with Virginia’s team making two pivotal demands:
“From our side we said there had to be a substantial amount of money and there had to be an acceptable statement from Prince Andrew. Those were really the two initial stumbling blocks and they were resolved within a few hours of each other.”
Things moved swiftly over a series of Zoom chats and phone calls between the legal teams because Andrew “just wanted out,” David explained:
“Prince Andrew just wanted out. He was realistic enough not to have any demands. He just wanted to pay not very much money and didn’t want to acknowledge Virginia or what he’d done and what his position was that Virginia had made all this up and wasn’t really a victim. He claimed he didn’t know anything about Epstein’s sex trafficking and had nothing to apologize for.”
Boies also thinks Andrew’s decision to hire “experienced counsel in the United States” helped turn the former helicopter pilot’s focus onto a settlement. Andrew ditched his UK lawyers for Andrew Brettler, who worked for Lavely & Singer at the time, a firm with a reputation for helping Hollywood stars make their problems disappear. According to David, Brettler was “less reluctant to talk about the realities than maybe some of his UK counsel.” This resulted in “the most dramatic” change in mood in Boies’ entire career, he mused:
“I can’t think of a turnaround that changed as dramatically in such a short a time as this one did.”
Wow! On why this was, he reflected:
“I have a sense that [Prince] Andrew probably had mixed emotions. I suspect there was a substantial amount of relief but also a substantial amount of discomfort as to what he had to acknowledge and the amount of money he had to pay.”
It’s been rumored Andrew had to pay somewhere between $9 million to $16 million — with the help of his late mother — but David declined to discuss the actual amount to avoid further “embarrassment” for the Duke. Yikes. That comment alone makes us think the check was probably HUGE!
Related: How Prince Andrew Is Sabotaging King Charles’ Coronation
Addressing reports that King Charles III’s younger brother wants to try to overturn the settlement, David went on to say:
“If they want to get out of the settlement all they have to do is call me and let me take Andrew’s deposition and go to trial.”
Which we don’t see happening! Interestingly, Virginia’s attorney doesn’t think all hope is lost for the dad of two — only if he owes up to his alleged mistakes. While the interviewee thinks another TV tell-all “wouldn’t help Andrew’s case,” especially after his disastrous 2019 BBC appearance, he does think a memoir might “help his reputation, depending on what it said.” He shared:
“I believe both as a matter of religious faith and human compassion in the possibility of redemption. I would not put Prince Andrew or any other child of God beyond the possibility of redemption but redemption has to begin with the admission of sin and thus far he has been disinclined to do that. I think that’s always the first step.”
But if Andrew wasn’t willing to open up to the court to avoid a big settlement, we’re not so sure he’d air all his (alleged) dirty laundry for a book at this point. But he might want to — at least just to get his side of the story out there — because Virginia is reportedly getting ready to spill all the tea in a memoir of her own! Ooooh. Now, that could really be the nail to the coffin of Andrew’s already ruined reputation! Thoughts?!
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Lifetime/BBC News/YouTube]
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