'I wasn't expecting this' - RTE offer viewers support during harrowing Late Late interview

RTE offered viewers support during an interview with a survivor of abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein who called for a major Irish investigation relating to the disgraced financier's potential activities here.

Lisa Phillips told her story directly to Irish viewers in a pre-recorded interview with host Patrick Kielty.

She recounted how she was drawn into Epstein’s orbit, the powerful figures she encountered and her ongoing mission to expose perpetrators and seek justice.

Explaining how she first crossed paths with Epstein, Lisa explained: "I was just a young model working in New York City. I had worked very hard to get to that point in my career. I had booked a big modeling job, a cover and a few pages in a British magazine.

"I flew with another model and we flew down to a small island called Tortola in the British West Indies near St. John's. And so from there, we just did a few days of shooting and then we had a free day and the other model said to me, 'you know, I have a friend who lives close by. He owns an island and he helped me to get my visa to work in the United States.'

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"And I'm like, wow, that's that's pretty cool. And she's like, 'yeah, you want to go hang out for the day?' And so I just said, 'sure.' And when you got to that island, it was a beautiful island and we just explored that day and you know played in the ocean and walked around.

"I met two other young girls that were on the island and hit it off with them and talked to them a bit and played in the pool, and at that time, I noticed there was like an older gentleman in the pool. He was like frolicking, canoodling with one of the other young girls. So just made a note of that."

She explained that later that night she went for dinner and was sitting next to Jeffrey Epstein, "that's where I met him for the first time."

She said her first impressions of him were that he was "very charming" and "very intelligent" but noted he was "very locked in on me in a way I wasn't used to with men." She revealed that Epstein then introduced her to the man who she says had been "frolicking" in the pool earlier, and that the man was former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who was arrested this week in relation to a misconduct in public office investigation.

Lisa said that evening took a dark turn when she had gone to bed and one of the young girls from earlier knocked on the door and said, "Jeffrey is ready for your massage." She and another girl were led to Epstein's bedroom where she saw him naked on his bed. They "did a massage" before things turned "pretty dark." She says she and the other girl were both assaulted that evening.

She said she was pulled back into Epstein's orbit despite trying to escape what had happened. She explained: "Jeffrey had a lot to do with the modelling industry." Following a phonecall with him she went for an interview with a modelling agency that was a "step up" from the agency she was with at the time. 

She said in the years that followed, she was abused again. "Jeffrey liked his massaged. It didn't happen every time and although he was helping you, you would go and see him, he would talk to you, mentor you and then you would try and escape or leave."

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She said sometimes it was just a massage but "usually it would turn into an assault." She said you would try to avoid seeing him but "it wasn't easy to avoid him."

Lisa said another friend confided in her that she was forced to have sex with another man at Epstein's house. She says they realised "there was something deeper and darker going on." She decided to get away from Epstein after confronting him. She then moved across the country. 

15 years later when Epstein died in prison, Lisa said she needed to find out what had been going on because the years had been "so confusing" to her. She has since led survivor groups in a campaign for justice and worked with other survivors to create their own list of powerful people they had seen involved in Epstein's horrendous abuse and activities. 

She insisted that a lot of the people involved have not yet been named in the millions of heavily redacted Epstein files which have been released. She said "survivors know who the names are" with regard to those not already implicated. She said it was not just in the US, but "a global human trafficking ring."

The files shows there was an alleged victim who says she was trafficked through Ireland and later abused, prompting Lisa to come to Ireland to meet "some power leaders" and urge them to investigate. 

She said: "My motivation for being here is that brave, young girl you know who spoke out - she contacted the FBI.

"I'm also here to meet with some powerful leaders and do a little push to do the right thing, to investigate her claims and anyone else who was in the files.

"There needs to be a thorough investigation," she added.

"I've always said, it's not just in the United States, it's a global human trafficking ring. And there are many powerful people - government officials, financial institutions, universities, modelling industry, entertainment industry - there are so many people that are involved, which is why it's a big mess," Ms Phillips said.

Following Ms Phillips call for an investigation, the Department of the Taoiseach said: "Our thoughts go out to anyone who suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein or any of his associates.

A statement from the Department of the Taoiseach was read out by Patrick Kielty during the interview. It read: "We would urge anyone, with any information about allegations contained in the Epstein files to contact the police."

She added: I've always said transparency and accountability, but for me, justice really is at this point is just exposing
who's in the files, all the names, and also who enabled. The enablers are really the people who allowed this to continue."

Patrick Kielty then also delivered a statement from the Irish Rape Crisis Centre: "We are grateful to you, Lisa, and to the other survivors, to anyone who has not yet been able to speak out about what happened. We see you, we believe you, and when you're ready to talk, we are here to listen and support you."

RTE flashed up a link to their rte.ie/helplines page during the interview and in subsequent social media posts from the interview.

Viewers were quick to praise Lisa for her honest and brave interview. One said: "I wasn’t expecting to watch this tonight but I’m glad I did. Such courage and bravery."

Another passionate viewer wrote: "Very brave lady. Well done Lisa! More stories will come out now about the entitled elite. She said that the amount of facilitators behind trafficking women is unbelievable. The high and mighty in all circles and high positions of power are all in this together. Rotten to the core and it’s happening worldwide!

"The flood gates are opening now and justice must prevail for all the Epsteins in society everywhere now in the world! Women should be standing up together! Women power can expose all the perpetrators of sexual assault and abuse and send out a clear message to the world that perpetrators can’t buy their way out of crimes against women."

You can watch Lisa's full interview below: