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A representative for celebrity hairstylist Frederic Fekkai is forcefully denying allegations that he and his salons helped Jeffrey Epstein groom and control women, after seven women filed a civil lawsuit making those claims
The suit accuses Fekkai and his company of acting as enablers of Epstein’s abuse, allegations his spokesperson has flatly rejected.
“These allegations are false. Mr. Fekkai has done nothing wrong,” his representative, Mark Herr, said in a statement. Fekkai has not been criminally charged.
Disputing the Allegations
Herr’s statement disputed both the substance and the premise of the lawsuit. He said Fekkai had no way of knowing whether any Epstein victim was among the tens of thousands of clients whose hair was cut each year across his salons by hundreds of employees.
“He has no idea whether any Epstein victim was among the tens of thousands of people whose hair was cut every year by the hundreds of Fekkai salon employees,” the statement read. “He never participated in any illegal behavior. He knew nothing about Epstein’s repugnant depravity or trafficking.”
A lawyer for Fekkai went further in a separate statement. The attorney said Fekkai did nothing wrong and denied that he knew about, participated in, enabled, or endorsed any of Epstein’s illegal conduct.
Fekkai’s team also noted that the suit doesn’t allege Fekkai personally met the women or harmed them, spotlighting the case as one built on his salons’ usual services instead of specific activities he could have participated in.
The Detailed Complaint
The civil complaint, filed in New York state court by seven women, makes claims that remain unproven. It alleges that Epstein directed women to Fekkai’s salons for hair services that were carried out according to the financier’s instructions, and that Epstein used the salons as part of a system to control the women.
The suit claims the arrangement benefited Fekkai financially over a period of years.
The allegations, which the plaintiffs say span from the 1990s into the 2000s, are civil accusations seeking financial damages under a state gender-motivated violence law.
Two plaintiffs told CNN they were sent to salons where stylists appeared to already have instructions about how Epstein wanted their hair styled.
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Denying Previous Allegations
The lawsuit was filed shortly after Fekkai’s name was raised on Capitol Hill. Rep. Thomas Massie included Fekkai among more than a dozen people he said in late August should be investigated and prosecuted in connection with Epstein, reading the names on the House floor as he pushed for the release of additional Epstein records. The complaint cites those remarks and an earlier letter from House Republicans that referred to Fekkai.
Fekkai hasn’t been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein. The references to Fekkai are part of a bigger push to investigate the Epstein files.
Additional Accusations
The lawsuit isn’t the first accusation Fekkai has faced tied to Epstein. Earlier this year, Epstein’s former assistant Sarah Kellen alleged in congressional testimony that Fekkai had abused her. Herr said at the time that Fekkai was astonished by the testimony, and denied that Fekkai abused anyone or took part in any illegal behavior, saying he knew nothing of Epstein’s crimes.
Fekkai, who’s French-born, opened his first New York salon in 1989 and built a brand based on his name that made him one of the most recognized names in hair care.
His representatives have said he intends to defend himself against the claims. The case remains in its early stages.
