Indian-origin filmmaker Mira Nair, mother of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has been named in the latest tranche of files released by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The files mention Nair as a guest at a film-related event that was hosted at Ghislaine Maxwell’s residence in 2009, an associate of Epstein.
The mention appears in an email that is a part of the recently released files. The DOJ has released approximately three million pages of documents on Friday as part of the ongoing Epstein releases.
Email references the film party at Maxwell’s townhouse
According to screenshots of the files, as reported by the Daily Mail, the email was sent on October 21, 2009, from Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal to an address linked to Epstein. The subject of the email is not mentioned, but it talks about a post-event party that was held after a film-related event.
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The email states: “Just left Ghislaine’s townhouse…after party for film. Bill Clinton and Jeff Bezos were there…Jean Pigozzi, director Mira Nair….etc.” The message does not provide further details about the nature or duration of the event.
The email written by Siegal further read, "Film received tepid reaction although women like it much more...Hillary Swank and Gere at stupid party in Bloomingdales cheap sportwear department....very weird." "Studio went for free party from store and windows for a month.... Going to be in Wall Street 2 tomorrow ....more to come. xoxo Peg."
Attendance not an indication of wrongdoing
The documents show that the mere presence of names in the Epstein files does not necessarily imply any kind of illegal activity or wrongdoing. The email suggests that Mira Nair was among the guests at a high-profile gathering held at Ghislaine Maxwell’s residence.
Several media reports have stated that the party may be connected to Nair’s 2009 film Amelia, which starred Hillary Swank and Richard Gere. However, the mention of the film is not made clear in the email screenshot itself.
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No response from mayor’s office yet
There has been no official statement so far from Mayor Mamdani’s office regarding the mention of his mother in the released files.
US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the DOJ has released over three million pages of documents, as well as more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. He added that images of women were removed, except for Ghislaine Maxwell’s.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
