Dua Lipa Calls Out Media’s Focus on Names Over Victims in Epstein Case

Dua Lipa is speaking out against the media’s handling of coverage surrounding the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs, arguing that the focus on high-profile individuals linked to the convicted sex offender overshadows the stories of the victims.

Lipa’s Criticism on Service 95 Podcast

During a recent episode of her Service 95 book club podcast, featuring author Roxane Gay, Lipa expressed her concerns about the way the crimes have been reported. “The way that the crimes have been reported, and the language that’s been used, has been doing such a disservice to all the victims,” she stated according to Yahoo Entertainment.

Lipa specifically criticized the tendency of stories to focus on “the underage girls and the sex parties, rather than writing about the victims that were children who were trafficked.” She believes this framing “puts everything under some kind of veil to protect — I don’t know who, [maybe] the reader — or trying to mask what is happening.”

Epstein’s Crimes and Recent Developments

Jeffrey Epstein was first convicted in 2008 on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor and later arrested in 2019 on sex-trafficking charges involving minors, to which he pleaded not guilty. He died by suicide while awaiting trial in 2019. His associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in the operation as reported by Yahoo Entertainment.

The release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein’s crimes on January 30th sparked renewed attention to the case, with much of the initial coverage centering on the prominent figures named in the files. These included Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Prince Andrew, all of whom have denied any wrongdoing .

Impact on the Music Industry

The fallout from the Epstein files has also extended to the music industry. Casey Wasserman, whose talent agency represented artists like Chappell Roan and Orville Peck, recently sold his agency following the release of his 2003 emails with Maxwell. Wasserman stated he “deeply regret[s]” the correspondence, emphasizing it occurred long before Maxwell’s crimes were known .

Lipa’s History of Activism

Dua Lipa has a history of speaking out on difficult political and social issues, including her advocacy for Palestinian people and raising awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Lipa’s most recent musical release, Radical Optimism, dropped in 2024, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200.