Sarah Ferguson branded Virginia Giuffre ‘salacious liar’ while defending Andrew as ‘one of the greatest men’ in a US TV interview

Sarah Ferguson has branded Virginia Giuffre’s claim that she was forced to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor a ‘obscene lie’ as she defended her ex-husband in an American television interview.

A clip of Sarah, now 66, reacting to Giuffre’s claims about the former Duke of York in a ’embarrassing’ episode of The Meredith Vieira Show discussed by fans Following the latest revelations in the Epstein Files.

Ms. Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers, claimed in court filings that she was 17 when Andrew was sex trafficked by the pedophile financier in the early 2000s.

Days later, in January 2015, Fergie told American broadcaster Meredith Vieira: ‘I don’t understand how people can make up obscene lies’ and described her reaction to Ms Giuffre’s accusations as ‘utter rage’.

He went on to praise the disgraced former duke, who has since been stripped of his titles, as ‘one of the greatest men I have ever met in my life’.

Andrew vehemently denied any wrongdoing but paid Ms. Giuffre $12 million to settle her sexual assault case in 2022; yet he claimed he didn’t even remember meeting her, let alone having sex with her.

But this week the Daily Mail revealed that an unredacted email in the Epstein Files stated Andrew had ‘consensual’ sex with Ms Giuffre.

The pedophile financier failed to correct a journalist who stated that it was true that the former prince had slept with the trafficking victim who committed suicide last year.

Sarah Ferguson has described Virginia Giuffre’s claim that she was forced to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a ‘obscene lie’ as she defended her ex-husband in a US TV interview.

Fergie, whose friendship and links to the pedophile financier faces constant scrutiny, blasted Ms. Vieira, citing Buckingham Palace’s unprecedented statement that Andrew “absolutely denies” having “any sexual contact or relationship” with Ms. Giuffre.

“They stand by that denial,” Fergie added. ‘There’s nothing more to say. These are shockingly incriminating lies that I will not stand by and allow anyone to believe. ‘I need to hang up right now.’

Sarah appeared in an episode of The Meredith Vieira Show that aired in the United States on January 13, 2015.

She had been promoting the Weight Watchers weight-loss program after it helped her lose 50 pounds, but her media coverage was overshadowed by Ms. Giuffre’s allegations in court documents filed weeks ago in Florida.

Ms Giuffre claimed she was 17 when she was abducted by the pedophile financier and was forced to have sex with Andrew on three separate occasions.

Asked about Ms. Giuffre’s statement, Fergie told Ms. Vieira: ‘Knowing him for as long as I know him – and he’s one of the greatest men I’ve ever met, my best friend and a great father to my kids – I thought, “In this day and age, I don’t understand how people can make up obscene lies and how the media can write about it and follow that.”

‘This is a denigration of a person’s character in a way that is the exact opposite of how they are portrayed,’ he continued.

When asked if she was ‘hurt’ by the allegations, Fergie said instead she felt ‘complete anger’.

Controversial former royal added: ‘I know what it’s like [have people spread lies] and not being able to say, “I never did this, I never did that, I never did that.” Because then everyone’s like, “Oh yeah, really?” he asks. I want to say this [Andrew’s] on behalf of.”

Fergie said in a bid to drum up sympathy for the former couple’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie: ‘Can you imagine what they are going through?’

‘So what do you four say within the confines of your home?’ Ms. Vieira asked Fergie.

He replied, ‘We will not be defeated, we are insurmountable and we will show it with success.’

When asked if she was ‘hurt’ by the allegations, Fergie told American publicist Meredith Vieira that she felt ‘utter rage’.

More than a decade later, the embattled former royal family has more questions than ever to answer.

Royal fans say Fergie’s interview with Ms Vieira is ‘disgraceful’ and ‘disgusting’, while the release of the Epstein Files has triggered new scrutiny of the York family’s dealings with the convicted sex offender.

Writing on Reddit, one person noted: ‘This hasn’t aged well.’

Another said: ‘Women who don’t believe in women are red flags…’

Referring to some of the documents relating to Epstein, a third person added: ‘But what’s frustrating is that Virginia was called a “liar” from the beginning while being intimate with a convicted sex offender. He’s a hypocrite and a helpless sycophant.’

One comment read: ‘It’s incredible how arrogant he is, knowing full well that he is dependent on Epstein for money. Both he and Andrew have used people over the years, and greed is a mortal sin. In such cases there is always a paper trail, so neither has a leg to stand on; They are ruined.’

Emails on file show Fergie told Epstein she felt desperate over debts of £6 million and sought his advice while serving a prison sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The Mail on Sunday revealed days ago that Fergie had repeatedly asked Epstein to hire her as a domestic assistant because she ‘desperately’ needed the money.

Emails show the then-Duchess requested the job despite Epstein being under house arrest in Florida following his conviction for procuring children for prostitution.

In a message sent in May 2010, he wrote: ‘But I don’t understand why, don’t appoint me as your Home Assistant.

‘I am the most talented and I need money badly. Please Jeffrey think about this.’

The Epstein Files also revealed that Sarah, now 67, told the billionaire pedophile financier to “marry me” in an email exchange from January 2010 after she was convicted of propositioning girls as young as 14 for sex.

The former Duchess wrote in the email: ‘You are a legend. I truly don’t have the words to express my love and gratitude for your generosity and kindness. xx I am at your service. ‘Just marry me.’

Andrew appears several times in the Epstein files; These include images showing Epstein kneeling over an unidentified woman at what appears to be his New York mansion

This wasn’t the first time he proposed to Epstein; In another email dated September 2009, Fergie suggested the convicted sex trafficker marry an unnamed woman with a ‘great body’, adding: ‘OK, marry me and then we’ll hire her.’

Meanwhile, a damning photo of Andrew crouching over the corpse of a young woman was also released among the files, as well as an unredacted email sent by a journalist to Epstein claiming he had “consensual sex” with Ms Giuffre.

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail revealed that the former prince did not correct the journalist who said he slept with a trafficking victim who died by suicide last year.

It comes as a leading lawyer warned Andrew could face prosecution for ‘a multitude’ of sexual offences, including sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and even prostitution, because of the Epstein Files.

Marcus Johnstone, a leading criminal defense lawyer specializing in sex crimes, claims Andrew could now be investigated over allegations he allowed sex trafficking victims into Buckingham Palace.

There are now claims that a woman who may have been a victim of trafficking snuck into the Palace by flying on Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ and went to see Andrew using the code name ‘Miss Windsor’.

Police said they would be looking for evidence to prove Andrew ‘knowingly facilitated exploitation’.

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing regarding the sexual harassment allegations.

Detectives may also investigate Andrew for misconduct in public office while he was a UK trade ambassador.

While King Charles last week said he was ‘ready to support’ the police as they consider the allegations against his brother, the Prince and Princess of Wales said they were ‘deeply concerned’ by the revelations, in their first statement since the scandal broke.