Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich

I struggle with parts of this case. I do not struggle with anything that has to do with 14 yo girls. However I do struggle with aspiring models, actresses & massage therapists acting completely shocked at being propositioned for sexual favors in return for money. The Jeffrey Epstein version interviews Annie Farmer's sister who was/is an artist & was receiving gifts, being put up in mansions to nothing but her art, etc & then at a certain point was propositioned for sex...ran in to a room and barricaded her self & left...but then allowed her younger sister to go there & surprise surprise the same thing happened

I guess my heart is black because it seems like anyone with half a brian & a bit of savvy would not accept any of these "gifts" w/o assuming there would eventually be a quid pro quo & at some point the giftee would want something in return.

Of course I'm only speaking of the women that are of age(which varies drastically from state to state & country to country. In fact 16 is the age of consent in most states in the USA). Maybe my ego is low? But did these women think that they were so amazing that people were just going to sponsor their careers, academic goals at the tune of thousands of dollars because they were so smart and interesting? The world is FULL of people doing very demeaning things for far less money.

These docs also put their finger in the scale by showing old photos of these women either years prior to the incident, or when they have no makeup on & look their absolute youngest.

I also would not be surprised if the reason we don't hear about all of the other "friends" of JE/GM is because there are secret settlement negotiations going on with them to keep their names out of the media.

Toward the end of the "Documentary" I found it very rich for an Attorney w/Jeffrey Boice's history to say something to the effect of "...these people need to be heard, powerful people can't...blah blah..."...Boice was one of the attorneys that AMBUSHED Tyler Shultz(the main whistleblower of the Theranos case)at his grandfather George Shultz's home in an attempt to force him to recant & sign NDA documents. An event that basically wrecked Tyler's relationship with his grandfather.

I realize attorneys are going to do attorney things & are essential(esp being questioned by police in ANY facet. ALWAYS say you want an attorney present...no matter what). But it's a little cringe when Attorney's that mostly have represented the uber wealthy bang the table for the little guy

Anyway in the zeitgeist of our times, there is no way a documentary delving in to this case &/or subject matter can even dip its toes in the balanced waters. The closest they came here was reading some of the cross examination & immediately calling it "rough" or "harsh" when I'm sure everyone of those attorneys would have taken the exact same plays from that playbook had they been retained by the other side.

I liked the small bit that talked about Ghislane's background. Being an American I wasn't as familiar with her as I'm sure people from the UK are. But nothing else was really illuminating if you've even just barely been following the heels of coverage this case has gotten(seems like the media almost trying to make up for dropping the ball on the original JE conviction?)

All that said I give this a 2/5...on par with one of the better episodes of the crappy, paint-by-numbers American true crime shows like "Dateline" & "48hrs"

There is a very sensitive subject to this documentary, which admittedly is not the first, and I wholly acknowledge that. However it has had the benefit of access to some names more closely linked to the subject matter than some other documentaries.

For those in the UK, this entire scandal has been an eye opener, and Ghislane Maxwell is only part of the story, however this doc is supposed to delve deep into her psyche but I don't think it succeeds. I personally found it mostly shallow in that respect. I don't think we found any true answers. It goes without saying our disgust on what she was wholly involved in, and this documentary really I felt struggled to give us anything new to spear her with. Her psyche wasn't investigated enough.

There are a number of very good aspects, and my due respect to the victims and those who assisted them in their journey to win justice. I just felt that there was more to say and provide information, and this documentary just felt as if when it tried to attempt to give an overview of Ghislane Maxwell it never said anything what isn't much already known or was just guesswork. I just feel there is more disturbingly to this story.

I assume legal reasons limits what could be delved into, which is frustrating but as long as she is not made some icon, then the better for it. I feel this documentary thankfully avoided that and did well in that par.

In any case, I found this not the most helpful documentary. She is (understandably & correctly) a new public hate figure, and she will hopefully serve the rest of her life behind bars. There are though others involved still to be challenged on their involvement and so this should not all stop here. To her victims, my respect to you all, and I hope further justice for you and everyone affected.

Interviews with ALL these "ex" friends of Ghislaine coming out now? Hmmm, where were they when all this stuff was going down? Now all of a sudden every ex friend of hers wants to tell their story. Pretty sure these people were either involved or knew what was going on! SO many "ex" friends talking out NOW 🙄. Give me a break, they knew and are just as disgusting as her. They even say they saw "signs" but did nothing. Seriously?! These are people that knew her VERY well and they're just now coming out saying stuff? They knew the whole time and were probably a part of the whole thing. They're just "finally" speaking out now to make themselves seem innocent.

I'm not saying she didn't do the things she's accused (and was ultimately found guilty) of doing, but these testimonials from prior associates and "survivors" don't really tell that story.

They selectively tell the story of a person who, like frankly a lot of people in the 90s/80s/70s, was riding the 'Super Freak' train.

There's the adult store clerk "survivor" who Maxwell hit on/pursued/made uncomfortable with salacious advances; the adult massage therapist who, because she was abused as a child, found herself unable to say 'no' to Maxwell's sexual advances; a group of adults to whom Maxwell proposed a party game where blindfolded male guests were to fondle the breasts of female guests.

Discomfiting, inappropriate, kinky, yes ... but criminal?

Again. Not saying she didn't do those other things. After all, she was found guilty in 2021 of child sex trafficking.

I just found this documentary to be pretty thin.

I quit watching after the photographer's testimonial. He tells the story of a photo shoot Maxwell arranged to promote her ocean conservancy efforts. The shoot takes place on the beach and Maxwell shows up wearing her 'save-the-ocean' tee shirt and ... gasp ... stiletto heels!

The photographer bows his head pensively and sighs.

'If only he'd recognized the signs,' his sad, faraway gaze seems to say.

Women (and men) recounted stories of being propositioned for sexual favors. Minors were mentioned, although evidence of crimes against those minors was scarce.

This films presents as a team of prosecutors and others who seem to use emotional tactics to convict in a court of public opinion.

I believe that Ghislaine Maxwell is guilty of crimes against minors, but if I were on a jury and this content was the extent of the prosecution's evidence, not guilty would be my verdict...and I'd stand on that decision, saddened by the potential miscarriage of justice, shaking my head.

Maybe the prosecution delivers compelling evidence in the courtroom.

As for this film, even a man was complaining that G. Maxwell had made sexual advances towards him. Is this supposed to be evidence of criminal behavior? See the Cole Hons interview around minute 106.

In another instance of lacking evidence, one of the prosecuting attorneys spoke of a victim by saying, "...she was extraordinarily young when she was recruited by GM..."

What does it mean to be extraordinarily young? Is the person two years old? Is she negative age? I concluded that his claim was more emotional manipulation.

Later, we find that the victim was 14 at the time of the alleged crimes. Then, we have no further information. How was the girl recruited? Where were her parents? What were the circumstances?

I found the whole film to be a pursuit of emotional manipulation rather than a delivery of facts that speak for themselves.

Shameless.

Can we go this hard against the celebrities and the world leaders who used Epstein's and Maxwell's services to exploit minors and to traffic sex workers? Where's the documentary that calls them out?