HarperCollins UK Apologizes to Melania Trump After Epstein Claims – Bans Original Version of Book from Distribution
First Lady Melania Trump has successfully compelled HarperCollins UK to remove and permanently withdraw passages from a book that falsely linked her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. the publisher issued an apology after consulting with the author and acted following Melania Trump’s legal team’s efforts to stop the spread of defamatory and unverified claims. This marks the third instance where false news about Melania’s alleged connection to Epstein has led to retractions, including apologies from The Daily Beast and Democratic strategist James Carville. Melania Trump maintains that the true story of how she met former President donald Trump is detailed in her bestselling memoir *Melania*, where she clarifies that Epstein was not involved in their introduction. She has also threatened legal action against Hunter Biden over similar defamatory comments.
First lady Melania Trump has left a publishing giant crying for mercy as she battles fake news linking her to convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“HarperCollins UK recently published a book by Andrew Lownie titled ‘Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.’ We have, in consultation with the author, removed passages of the book that referenced unverified claims about the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump,” HarperCollins UK wrote in a statement that Melania Trump posted on her X account.
“Copies of the book that include those references are being permanently removed from distribution. HarperCollins UK apologizes to the First Lady,” the publisher wrote.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) October 7, 2025
The first lady has repeatedly pounced upon inaccurate claims that she and President Donald Trump were introduced by Epstein.
Her attorneys “are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods,” a representative said, according to Axios.
“The true account of how the first lady met President Trump is in her bestselling book, ‘Melania,’” the representative continued.
As noted by Fox News, this was the third time peddling fake news about the first lady has led to a retraction.
The Daily Beast was forced to issue an apology and retract a similar claim that had been advanced by writer Michael Wolff.
“The Daily Beast recently published a story headlined ‘Melania Trump “Very Involved” in Epstein Scandal: Author’ based on an interview with Michael Wolff. Upon reflection, we have determined that the article did not meet our standards and has therefore been removed from our platforms,” The Daily Beast said in its statement.
“In response to a letter from the first lady’s attorneys, The Daily Beast has also removed a portion of an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast titled ‘Trump’s Epstein Scandal Can’t Stop Won’t Stop’ referencing the first lady,” the apology read. “The first lady points to her bestselling book ‘Melania’ as the definitive account of her life story. We apologize to the first lady and our readers.”
Democratic strategist James Carville had parroted the claim and later backpedaled.
“In last week’s podcast episode, we spoke with Judd Legum,” Carville said. “After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer. He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady.”
“We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize,” he said.
Melania Trump has said, she could file a $1 billion lawsuit against Hunter Biden for his comments about her and Epstein. He has refused to apologize.
As noted by NBC, Melania Trump wrote in her book that she met her future husband at a September 1998 party at the Kit Kat Club in New York City and that the individual who introduced them to each other was not Epstein.
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