Johanna Sjoberg sat frozen on the sofa in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, the laughter around her suddenly feeling far away. Without warning, Prince Andrew—casual, almost playful—reached over and placed his hand on her breast. Right there, in plain sight. Virginia Giuffre, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein were all present, snapping photos and chuckling as a bizarre puppet of the prince mimicked the same grope on Giuffre’s chest.
Sjoberg, then a 21-year-old massage therapist trapped in Epstein’s world, later testified under oath about the brazen violation. The royal’s touch wasn’t hidden in a back room or whispered in secret—it was open, entitled, and treated like a joke among the powerful.
Her chilling recollection now joins Virginia Giuffre’s accusations, painting a disturbing picture of what happened behind closed doors. How many other moments like this went unspoken?
Johanna Sjoberg sat frozen on the sofa in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, the laughter around her suddenly feeling far away. Without warning, Prince Andrew—casual, almost playful—reached over and placed his hand on her breast. Right there, in plain sight. Virginia Giuffre, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein were all present, snapping photos and chuckling as a bizarre puppet of the prince mimicked the same grope on Giuffre’s chest.
Sjoberg, then a 21-year-old massage therapist trapped in Epstein’s world, later testified under oath about the brazen violation. The royal’s touch wasn’t hidden in a back room or whispered in secret—it was open, entitled, and treated like a joke among the powerful.
Her chilling recollection now joins Virginia Giuffre’s accusations, painting a disturbing picture of what happened behind closed doors. How many other moments like this went unspoken?
The incident unfolded in 2001 at Epstein’s lavish Upper East Side residence. Sjoberg, hired while studying in Florida, had been drawn into Epstein’s circle with promises of easy money and opportunities. In her 2016 deposition—unsealed years later as part of the Giuffre v. Maxwell case—she described how Ghislaine Maxwell retrieved a grotesque caricature puppet of Prince Andrew from an upstairs closet. The puppet, originally created for the BBC’s Spitting Image, carried a tag identifying it as “Prince Andrew.”
What started as a supposed prank quickly turned invasive. Someone suggested taking photographs. Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew sat on a couch. The puppet was placed on Giuffre’s lap, its hand deliberately positioned on her breast. Sjoberg was then instructed to sit on Andrew’s lap. As the camera flashed and laughter filled the room, Andrew placed his hand on Sjoberg’s breast. She testified clearly: “Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo.” The act occurred in the formal living room, with no attempt at privacy and no objection from those present.
Sjoberg emphasized the casual atmosphere, yet the moment crossed a clear line of consent and dignity. The puppet’s exaggerated gesture mirrored the real prince’s actions, turning a supposed joke into a humiliating display of power and objectification.
This account stands beside Virginia Giuffre’s far more serious allegations that she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to Prince Andrew for sex when she was 17. Giuffre’s civil lawsuit against the Duke of York settled in 2022 without any admission of liability from Andrew, who has consistently denied all claims. Buckingham Palace has called Sjoberg’s testimony “categorically untrue,” and the prince has rejected any suggestion of misconduct.
Epstein’s network thrived on wealth, influence, and the silence of its victims. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking minors and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. Sjoberg’s sworn statement adds another layer to the grim portrait of exploitation that persisted for years.
The puppet incident—mocking, grotesque, yet disturbingly real—serves as a stark symbol of how boundaries could vanish in Epstein’s orbit. It forces society to confront an uncomfortable truth: how many other young women endured similar or worse treatment, too afraid, ashamed, or disbelieved to speak? Each survivor’s voice chips away at the long silence that once protected the powerful. Sjoberg’s memory of that frozen moment ensures the question remains, urgent and unanswered.
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