In an era where baseless smears and lazy innuendo are too often disguised as journalism, Melania Trump just secured another rare but meaningful victory for truth — and dignity — in public discourse.
On Tuesday, HarperCollins UK issued a formal public apology to the former First Lady after publishing false claims linking her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a recent book. The company admitted the assertion was “unverified” and confirmed that all copies of the book containing the falsehoods would be permanently pulled from distribution.
The book in question, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York by Andrew Lownie, is ostensibly about Prince Andrew. But like many titles in today’s media landscape, it couldn’t resist tossing in salacious name-drops for clicks — even if they had no basis in fact. One such claim was that Melania Trump had been introduced to Donald Trump by Epstein, a claim the First Lady and her team have long and firmly denied.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) October 7, 2025
As Melania Trump’s own memoir documents, she met Donald Trump in 1998 at the Kit Kat Club in New York City — not through Epstein, not at one of the financier’s notorious gatherings, and not via any of the scandal-ridden paths the media’s more desperate corners love to imagine.
That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from grinding, though. Over the years, multiple left-leaning outlets and commentators have echoed the same fabrication, only to face legal pushback and forced retractions.
The Daily Beast, after repeating Michael Wolff’s baseless speculation in July, issued a retraction and apology following a legal notice from Trump’s attorneys. Then in August, Democratic strategist James Carville also had to walk back similar remarks, deleting a YouTube video and apologizing after being contacted by her legal counsel.
Melania Trump: I Expected More Democrats to Support Bill to Fight Deepfake AI Videos pic.twitter.com/kCQJyZ3Lgu
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 4, 2025
What’s notable in all of these cases is not just the retractions — but the pattern. Each time the same baseless claim is made, it’s followed by the same reality check: it’s false, it’s defamatory, and the First Lady will not let it stand unchallenged.
In an age when public figures are expected to accept smears as the price of visibility, Melania Trump has drawn a line — and enforced it with precision. Her message is clear: if you lie about her, you’ll correct the record, whether you like it or not.
