Imagine the opulent glow of Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2001: a young massage therapist, Johanna Sjoberg, seated on a couch beside Prince Andrew, the Queen’s son, laughing as a puppet of himself was dangled in front of her—until, in a sudden, shocking move, the royal’s hand slipped under her shirt and groped her breast.
In her explosive, uncensored deposition—unsealed in the latest Epstein files—Sjoberg recounts the moment with chilling clarity: no hesitation, no apology, just a casual violation in a room full of powerful people. She describes Andrew’s playful demeanor turning invasive, the puppet used as a bizarre prop, and Epstein’s casual encouragement in the background.
This raw testimony doesn’t just accuse—it exposes a world where royalty mingled with predators, and boundaries vanished behind closed doors. What else did the elite witness that night? What other secrets remain buried in those files?
The opulent glow of Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion bathed the room in 2001, where luxury masked darker undercurrents. A young massage therapist, Johanna Sjoberg, then 20 or 21 and recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell under the guise of assistant work, found herself seated on a couch beside Prince Andrew, the Queen’s son. Laughter filled the air as a caricature puppet of the royal—modeled after a satirical BBC Spitting Image figure—was dangled playfully.
In her detailed 2016 deposition, unsealed in early 2024 as part of documents from Virginia Giuffre’s settled defamation lawsuit against Maxwell, Sjoberg recounted the moment with chilling clarity. Maxwell retrieved the puppet from a closet, presenting it as a “great joke.” The group—Epstein, Maxwell, Giuffre (then 17), Andrew, and Sjoberg—posed for a photo. Virginia Giuffre sat beside Andrew on the couch, the puppet placed on her lap. Sjoberg sat on Andrew’s lap “on my own volition,” she testified. Then, “they put the puppet’s hand on Virginia’s breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast,” and the photo was taken.
Sjoberg described no hesitation, no apology—just a casual, invasive act amid the bizarre prop and casual encouragement from those present. She noted Andrew’s initially charming demeanor, only recognizing him fully after seeing the puppet’s tag. The incident, around Easter 2001 at Epstein’s East 71st Street townhouse, unfolded in a space where powerful figures mingled freely, boundaries seemingly erased behind closed doors.
Prince Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing, including groping allegations, and settled a 2022 civil lawsuit with Giuffre for an undisclosed sum without admitting liability. He has maintained the claims are false and that he regrets his association with Epstein. No criminal charges have been filed against him related to these events, and the Metropolitan Police in London stated in 2024 they were not pursuing new investigations based on the unsealed documents.
Sjoberg’s raw testimony, given under oath in May 2016, doesn’t just accuse—it exposes a world of elite entitlement where royalty intersected with Epstein’s predatory network. She described being flown from Palm Beach to New York to “entertain” Andrew, highlighting how young women were drawn into this orbit. Other elements from her deposition, including mentions of Epstein’s comments on figures like Bill Clinton (“likes them young”) and encounters with celebrities like David Copperfield and Michael Jackson (with no wrongdoing alleged), underscore the casual normalization of exploitation.
What else did the elite witness that night in the opulent glow? What other interactions, conversations, or secrets unfolded in those rooms, captured only in fragments of testimony and memory? While the 2024 unsealing brought fresh scrutiny, later partial DOJ releases in 2025–2026 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act—often heavily redacted—have teased more without full resolution. Sjoberg’s account stands as a stark reminder: behind the glamour of power and privilege, violations occurred with shocking nonchalance, leaving lingering questions about accountability in the shadows of Epstein’s empire.
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