The family of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a teenager, sat down with MS NOW’s Jen Psaki, hours after the former prince was arrested by U.K. authorities on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Sky Roberts, Giuffre’s brother, said that he got an “adrenaline rush” upon hearing the news, adding that he felt a “sense of joy” and “pride” and called the arrest “another vindication for our sister and for survivors out there.”
“It just felt surreal,” he told Psaki. “I felt like I was in a haze for a moment — like, is this real?”
Giuffre alleged she was assaulted by Mountbatten-Windsor after being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied Giuffre’s allegations. She died by suicide last year at the age of 41.
“We’re so proud of her,” Roberts said of his late sister. “Even though he’s getting arrested on charges that may not be affiliated directly with the sexual allegations that my sister had brought against him, it’s still a form of justice. These are the things that our survivors are waiting for, and we have to give survivors, my sister, the day here, and give them that win, because they come so few.”
Before her death, Giuffre was one of the most high-profile Epstein survivors, in part due to a now infamous 2001 photograph that appeared to show Mountbatten-Windsor’s arm around a 17-year-old Giuffre.
Amanda Roberts, Sky’s wife and Giuffre’s sister-in-law, told Psaki that the photo was “a pivotal moment in this case.”
“Oftentimes when survivors come forward, it’s always ‘he said, she said,’ and society is inclined to believe the ‘he’ before the ‘she,’” she explained. “What she did with that piece of evidence … was such a critical turning point.”
While Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly cast doubt on the authenticity of the photo, a 2015 email from Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, released by the Justice Department earlier this year, appeared to confirm that the image is real.
“I can imagine it is the biggest thorn in Andrew’s side, and it gives me some joy to know that — that they still cannot get away from this photo that they’ve backtracked and claimed wasn’t real, time and time again. It’s been proven that it is real and that Virginia was telling the truth,” Amanda Roberts told Psaki.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s charges are not directly related to Giuffre’s accusations, but Sky Roberts said he hoped an investigation into his late sister’s claims could be on the horizon. “I think our sister has proven to be a truth-teller time and time again,” he told Psaki.
While his family had not heard from British authorities, Sky Roberts said they were “very open to it” and told Psaki he would commend the U.K. “for actually taking a stand against this when our own government won’t.”
“When are we going to start believing survivors is really my question,” he continued. “When are we going to start, like, making the burden of proof on survivors a little bit less than what they are now, because my sister paved the way, and now we’re trailblazing through it.”
“She did it for us first,” he said. “Now we get to carry on the legacy behind her.”
You can watch Sky and Amanda Roberts’ full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”