Exclusive: Survivors say Epstein gave celebrity stylist Frédéric Fekkai’s salon ‘instructions’ to make them look younger

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images/File

Jeffrey Epstein told a 19-year-old aspiring actress who was visiting his Upper East Side townhouse in 2004 for one of their “massage” sessions that she should visit a hair salon — specifically, the one in midtown Manhattan owned by celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai.

During her first visit there, she excitedly told a stylist employed by Fekkai that she wanted to cut her long hair to shoulder length. But she told CNN in an interview that to her surprise, he refused, saying: “Those aren’t the instructions I got.”

Instead, the stylist used a razor to thin out her hair and gave her curtain bangs, which she didn’t want. She was so upset that she said she refused to see Epstein again for a few weeks. The next time she did, she recalled to CNN, Epstein was effusive about her new look, telling her it was “so close” to what he wanted.

She said she couldn’t remember ever meeting Fekkai himself, and wonders to this day how so many people around Epstein appeared to have turned a blind eye to his abuse. “I tend to give people a lot of grace when I shouldn’t,” she said. “You had to have known this was wrong.”

This individual is one of the seven women suing Fekkai in a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court this week. CNN spoke exclusively with two of the five Jane Doe plaintiffs; the specific details they shared about Fekkai and his salon were not described in the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs — Kersti Ferguson, Audra Christiansen and five Jane Does, all of whom say they were victims of Epstein’s abuse — allege that Fekkai and one of his employees, Patrick Coombs, aided Epstein’s sex trafficking for years. None of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit accuse Fekkai or Coombs of sexual assault. Five Jane Doe plaintiffs filed a similar lawsuit against Fekkai earlier this year before dropping it in June.

“Fekkai groomed the victims to look as young as possible under Epstein’s direction,” the lawsuit claims. “Epstein would direct Fekkai to bleach victims blond and groom them like dolls into Epstein’s and others’ liking.”

Fekkai spokesperson Mark Herr told CNN in a statement in response to the lawsuit and CNN’s interviews with some of the plaintiffs: “These allegations are false. Mr. Fekkai has done nothing wrong.”

“And 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,” Herr said.

Josh Perry, a lawyer for Fekkai, said in a letter sent to CNN that Fekkai “did nothing wrong,” denying that he “in any way knew about, participated in, enabled, or endorsed Epstein’s illicit and illegal conduct. He did not.”

US Justice Department/Reuters

The second Jane Doe CNN interviewed said that one afternoon in the early 2000s at Nikki Beach, a popular restaurant and beach club in the French Riviera resort town of Saint-Tropez, Epstein walked her over to Fekkai to ask him a question: How could they make her look younger?

The woman, who was around 20 at the time, would soon find out. Once back in New York City, she was sent to see a top stylist at Fekkai’s ritzy hair salon on 57th Street. Her hair at the time, she said, was natural, plain and long; she walked out of the appointment with new layers and bangs. At no point did the hairdresser ask her how she wished to cut her hair.

“He had instructions and that’s all. You went in there and that was it,” the woman recalled in an interview. “It’s not like he was like: ‘So what are we doing with your hair today?’”

Herr, the Fekkai spokesperson, told CNN Fekkai was never in Saint-Tropez with Epstein.

CNN has reached out to Coombs for comment.

Ferguson, one of the named plaintiffs, says in the lawsuit that Epstein “committed gender-motivated violence against her” for approximately 20 years starting when she was around 16, and that Fekkai helped enable that violence. A former model, Ferguson told the New York Times in a 2022 piece that Epstein never suggested having sex with her. Jennifer Plotkin, Ferguson’s lawyer, told CNN: “Her interview was taken out of context. She was sexually abused by Epstein.”

The other named plaintiff, Christiansen, is a former Playboy model who says she was abused by Epstein starting when she was around 24 years old; she also said that the abuse was enabled by Fekkai.

Fekkai has been one of the biggest names in the hair, beauty and fashion industries going back to the 1990s. Born in France, Fekkai opened his first New York City salon inside of Bergdorf Goodman and his website touts “A-listers the likes of Meryl Streep, Naomi Campbell, and Salma Hayek” as some of his previous celebrity clients. He was also a stylist for Hillary Clinton.

Following the success of his salons, Fekkai turned his focus to “Fekkai” brand hair products and claims to have been the original pioneer of the concept “skinification of hair.” His website currently lists one hair salon in the United States located on the Upper East Side’s Mark Hotel.

Craig Barritt/Getty Images for ELLE/File

CNN also reviewed the Justice Department’s Epstein files for additional information about Fekkai’s relationship with Epstein. A search for Fekkai’s name in the “Epstein Library” yields thousands of results, though some of the results are duplicative. The files show that Epstein spent tens of thousands of dollars at Fekkai’s salons over the years, both for himself as well as friends and associates.

And Epstein’s association with Fekkai went beyond hair.

He attempted to connect Fekkai with businessmen on at least two occasions, while at least four times, Fekkai asked to use apartments belonging to Epstein, the files reveal . In 2010, the hairstylist asked to use Epstein’s now-infamous massage room for a session with his own masseuse. Epstein agreed but told his assistant to let Fekkai know that he would be home.

Fekkai also once asked if Epstein could help him find an apartment for a nanny; another time he asked if Epstein had an apartment for rent “from time to time when a friend comes to visit him.”

Epstein would also conduct meetings at Fekkai’s salon. In one instance, Epstein’s assistant told someone : “he often does have people come meet him while he is out…and yes, at the salon too sometimes.”

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act and is now pushing for the DOJ to release millions of additional files, said on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday that “perpetrators” of Epstein’s crimes must be investigated. He read off a list of men that included Fekkai.

Earlier this year, one of Epstein’s former assistants, Sarah Kellen, told Congress that Fekkai sexually assaulted her. According to Kellen, the two first met in the early 2000s in Honolulu when Fekkai was promoting his haircare line. Fekkai, Kellen alleged, asked her to be in a hair show that “didn’t exist,” and she ended up staying in Fekkai’s hotel room.

“He took advantage of me that night,” she said in a closed-door interview with members of the House Oversight Committee.

Herr, the spokesperson for Fekkai, previously said in a statement to CNN that Fekkai “never took advantage” of Kellen.

“Mr. Fekkai was astonished to read of Ms. Kellen’s testimony. Mr. Fekkai never abused anyone. He never participated in any illegal behavior. He knew nothing about Epstein’s repugnant depravity or trafficking. He did nothing wrong,” Herr said.

Following Kellen’s testimony, the House Oversight Committee’s top Republican, Rep. James Comer, called on the Justice Department to investigate Kellen’s allegations of criminal misconduct against Fekkai and one other individual.

To this day, only one person other than Epstein — Ghislaine Maxwell — has been prosecuted in the US in relation to Epstein’s crimes. Epstein survivors have called on the federal government to pursue what they see as many potential leads in the DOJ’s Epstein files about people who aided Epstein over the years.

US Department of Justice

The Epstein files show that multiple meetings and calls were set up between Fekkai and Epstein — after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The files include numerous invoices from Fekkai’s salon charged to Epstein. At times, the incoming receipts were so frequent that one of Epstein’s employees had to ask Epstein’s assistant to clarify who the services were provided to.

In one email , Epstein appears to share photos of a woman (which are not visible in the Epstein files) with Fekkai. “What’s the hair length now?” Fekkai asked in response. Fekkai added that the woman could come to his New York salon the following day.

In December 2013, Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff wrote to a redacted individual: “Jeffrey would like to treat you to a manicure, haircut and a teeth cleaning!” (The person appears to have been in the modeling world, based on their reference to “castings from agency.”) In a subsequent email, Groff said Epstein’s direction was for the haircut to be at Fekkai’s salon.

In 2019, just months before Epstein was arrested, Groff wrote to two redacted individuals that Epstein had “requested” haircuts for them at Fekkai’s salon. “YOU will both go tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 14th, one of you at 5:00pm and the other at 5:30pm!”

When a top stylist at Fekkai’s salon was making an appointment to visit Epstein’s home in 2012 for a haircut, the stylist asked whether the appointment was just for Epstein. The redacted individual wrote back : “I am not sure on who will be around, but it seems he always has someone else around to have their hair cut as well!”

For Epstein, giving access to his account at Fekkai’s salon was also a way of pampering his friends.

“Wanted you to know your hair appointment at Frederic Fekkai Salon tomorrow has been paid for, compliments of Jeffrey :)” Epstein’s assistant emailed Kathy Ruemmler in 2015. The former senior Goldman Sachs executive resigned from her role as the bank’s chief legal officer after revelations of her close friendship with Epstein.

William B. Plowman/NBC NewsWire/Getty Images

Former Obama White House attorney says ‘it was a mistake’ to deal with Epstein and she regrets it

“Jeffrey would like me to organize a hair color with Hubert at Fekkai Salon for you,” an assistant wrote Ruemmler again that year. Ruemmler wrote back : “For once, I beat Jeffrey to it,” saying she had just been to the salon the previous day.

In 2016, just before Valentine’s Day, Epstein’s assistant wrote to Ruemmler: “Jeffrey would like me to organize a full spa day for you today or tomorrow.” After some back and forth about availability at various spas in the city, Ruemmler suggested : “I was going to see if I can get a blow out at Fekkai on Monday if they are open. Maybe Jeffrey would want to do that?”

Ruemmler’s spokesperson Jami Schlicher told CNN that Ruemmler “had her hair cut there probably 10 times a year” and that “she always paid” with the exception of “one time.” Ruemmler has said she was unaware of Epstein’s crimes and that she regretted having interacted with him.

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images/文件

2004 年，杰弗里·爱泼斯坦告诉一位 19 岁、有抱负的女演员，当时她正在他位于上东区的联排别墅里接受他们的“按摩”服务，爱泼斯坦建议她去美发沙龙——具体来说，是去曼哈顿中城一家由名人发型师弗雷德里克·费凯 (Frédéric Fekkai) 拥有的美发沙龙。

她第一次去那里的时候，兴奋地告诉费凯的一位发型师，她想把长发剪到齐肩的长度。但她在接受CNN采访时说，令她惊讶的是，发型师拒绝了，并说：“我收到的指示不是这样的。”

造型师没有按照她的要求来，而是用剃刀把她的头发剃薄，还剪了她不喜欢的刘海。她非常生气，以至于好几个星期都拒绝再见爱泼斯坦。她后来告诉CNN，下次见面时，爱泼斯坦对她的新造型赞不绝口，说这“非常接近”他想要的效果。

她说她记不清是否见过费凯本人，至今仍不明白为什么爱泼斯坦身边那么多人似乎都对他的虐待行为视而不见。“我常常不该宽容的时候却宽容了，”她说，“你肯定知道这是错的。”

这位女士是本周在纽约州最高法院提起诉讼的七名女性之一，她们控告费凯。CNN独家采访了五位化名“简·多伊”的原告中的两位；她们分享的关于费凯及其沙龙的具体细节并未在诉讼文件中披露。

原告包括克尔斯蒂·弗格森、奥德拉·克里斯蒂安森以及五名化名“简·多伊”的受害者，她们均声称自己是爱泼斯坦性侵案的受害者。原告指控费凯及其雇员帕特里克·库姆斯多年来协助爱泼斯坦进行性交易。诉讼中的所有原告均未指控费凯或库姆斯性侵。今年早些时候，五名化名“简·多伊”的原告也曾对费凯提起过类似的诉讼，但于六月撤诉。

诉讼称，“在爱泼斯坦的指示下，费凯将受害者打扮得尽可能年轻。爱泼斯坦会指示费凯将受害者染成金发，并像摆弄洋娃娃一样将她们打扮成爱泼斯坦和其他人喜欢的样子。”

针对这起诉讼以及CNN对部分原告的采访，Fekkai的发言人Mark Herr在一份声明中告诉CNN：“这些指控是虚假的。Fekkai先生没有做错任何事。”

“而且他也不知道，每年有数万名顾客在 Fekkai 美发沙龙接受数百名员工的理发，其中是否有爱泼斯坦的受害者，”赫尔说。

费凯的律师乔什·佩里在一封发给 CNN 的信中表示，费凯“没有做错任何事”，否认他“以任何方式知晓、参与、纵容或支持爱泼斯坦的非法行为。他没有。”

美国司法部/路透社

CNN采访的第二位化名简·多伊的女子说，在2000年代初的一个下午，在法国里维埃拉度假胜地圣特罗佩的一家名为Nikki Beach的热门餐厅和海滩俱乐部，爱泼斯坦带她走到费凯面前，问他一个问题：怎样才能让她看起来更年轻？

当时大约20岁的她很快就明白了。回到纽约后，她被安排到位于57街的高档美发沙龙Fekkai，找一位顶尖造型师剪头发。她说，她当时的头发是自然的、朴素的长发；剪完头发后，她却剪了层次分明的新发型，还加了刘海。整个过程中，发型师都没有问过她想剪成什么样子。

“他只给了我一些指示，仅此而已。你进去之后就完事了，”这位女士在一次采访中回忆道。“他不会像有些人那样问：‘那么，我们今天要怎么打理你的头发呢？’”

费凯的发言人赫尔告诉 CNN，费凯从未与爱泼斯坦一起去过圣特罗佩。

CNN已联系库姆斯征求意见。

原告之一弗格森在诉讼中称，爱泼斯坦从她16岁左右开始，对她实施了长达约20年的“基于性别的暴力行为”，而费凯则助长了这种暴力行为。弗格森曾是一名模特，她在2022年接受《纽约时报》采访时表示，爱泼斯坦从未暗示过要与她发生性关系。弗格森的律师詹妮弗·普洛特金告诉CNN：“她的采访被断章取义了。她曾遭受爱泼斯坦的性虐待。”

另一名原告克里斯蒂安森是前《花花公子》模特，她说自己从 24 岁左右开始就遭到爱泼斯坦的虐待；她还说费凯纵容了这种虐待行为。

自上世纪90年代以来，费凯一直是美发、美容和时尚界举足轻重的人物。费凯出生于法国，在纽约市的波道夫·古德曼百货公司内开设了他的第一家沙龙。他的网站上自豪地宣称，梅丽尔·斯特里普、娜奥米·坎贝尔和萨尔玛·海耶克等一线明星都是他之前的名人客户。他还曾担任希拉里·克林顿的造型师。

凭借其美发沙龙的成功，费凯将重心转向“费凯”品牌的护发产品，并声称自己是“头发去角质化”概念的原创先驱。他的网站目前列出了一家位于美国上东区马克酒店的美发沙龙。

Craig Barritt/Getty Images for ELLE/档案照片

CNN还查阅了司法部关于爱泼斯坦的档案，以获取更多关于费凯与爱泼斯坦关系的信息。在“爱泼斯坦档案库”中搜索费凯的名字，会得到数千条结果，但其中一些结果重复。档案显示，多年来，爱泼斯坦在费凯的沙龙消费了数万美元，既有他自己的消费，也有为朋友和同事消费的。

而爱泼斯坦与费凯的关系远不止于头发。

文件显示，他至少两次试图将费凯介绍给商人，费凯至少四次要求使用爱泼斯坦的公寓。2010年，这位发型师要求使用爱泼斯坦臭名昭著的按摩室，与他自己的按摩师进行按摩。爱泼斯坦同意了，但嘱咐助手告知费凯他会在家。

费凯还曾问过爱泼斯坦是否可以帮他找一套公寓给保姆住；另一次，他问爱泼斯坦是否有公寓出租，“以便朋友偶尔来拜访他时使用”。

爱泼斯坦还会在费凯的沙龙里举行会面。有一次，爱泼斯坦的助手告诉某人：“他经常在外出时安排人来见他……是的，有时也会在沙龙里。”

共和党众议员托马斯·马西是《爱泼斯坦档案透明法案》的起草者，他目前正敦促司法部公布数百万份额外的档案。周一，马西在众议院发言时表示，必须对爱泼斯坦罪行的“肇事者”进行调查。他宣读了一份名单，其中包括费凯。

今年早些时候，爱泼斯坦的前助理莎拉·凯伦向国会作证，称费凯曾性侵她。凯伦表示，两人于2000年代初在檀香山相识，当时费凯正在推广他的护发产品系列。凯伦声称，费凯邀请她参加一场“根本不存在的”美发秀，最终她住在了费凯的酒店房间里。

“那天晚上他占了我便宜，”她在与众议院监督委员会成员的闭门访谈中说道。

Fekkai 的发言人 Herr 此前在给 CNN 的一份声明中表示，Fekkai “从未占过”Kellen 的便宜。

赫尔说：“费凯先生读到凯伦女士的证词后感到震惊。费凯先生从未虐待过任何人，也从未参与过任何非法行为。他对爱泼斯坦令人发指的堕落行径和人口贩卖一无所知。他没有做错任何事。”

在凯伦作证后，众议院监督委员会的首席共和党议员詹姆斯·科默呼吁司法部调查凯伦对费凯和另一名个人的刑事不当行为的指控。

迄今为止，除爱泼斯坦本人外，只有吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦一人因与爱泼斯坦的罪行有关而在美国被起诉。爱泼斯坦的受害者呼吁联邦政府调查司法部爱泼斯坦档案中他们认为存在的诸多潜在线索，这些线索涉及多年来协助爱泼斯坦的人员。

美国司法部

爱泼斯坦档案显示，在爱泼斯坦因 2008 年招揽未成年人卖淫罪被定罪后，费凯与爱泼斯坦之间安排了多次会面和通话。

这些文件中包括大量费凯沙龙向爱泼斯坦收取费用的发票。有时，发票数量如此之多，以至于爱泼斯坦的一名员工不得不向他的助理询问这些服务究竟提供给了谁。

在一封电子邮件中，爱泼斯坦似乎与费凯分享了一位女性的照片（这些照片在爱泼斯坦的档案中并未公开）。费凯回复道：“现在头发有多长？”他还补充说，这位女性第二天可以来他在纽约的沙龙。

2013年12月，爱泼斯坦的助理莱斯利·格罗夫写信给一位匿名人士：“杰弗里想请你做个美甲、理发和洗牙！”（根据对方提及“经纪公司安排的选角”，此人似乎从事模特行业。）在随后的一封电子邮件中，格罗夫表示，爱泼斯坦指示理发地点在费凯沙龙。

2019年，就在爱泼斯坦被捕前几个月，格罗夫写信给两位身份不明的人，称爱泼斯坦“要求”他们去费凯的理发店理发。“你们俩明天，也就是2月14日星期四，去理发，一个下午5点，另一个下午5点半！”

2012年，费凯沙龙的一位顶级造型师预约去爱泼斯坦家理发时，询问预约是否只针对爱泼斯坦一人。这位造型师回复道：“我不确定会有哪些人在场，但他似乎总是会带其他人一起去理发！”

对爱泼斯坦来说，让他的朋友访问他在费凯沙龙的账户也是一种款待他们的方式。

“想告诉你，你明天在 Frederic Fekkai 沙龙的理发预约已经付清了，这是 Jeffrey 的赠礼 :)” 2015 年，爱泼斯坦的助理给 Kathy Ruemmler 发了一封电子邮件。这位前高盛高管在与爱泼斯坦的密切友谊被曝光后，辞去了该银行首席法律官的职务。

William B. Plowman/NBC NewsWire/Getty Images

奥巴马时期的白宫律师表示，与爱泼斯坦打交道“是个错误”，她对此感到后悔。

“杰弗里想让我帮你安排一下在费凯沙龙找休伯特染发，”一位助理那年再次写信给鲁姆勒。鲁姆勒回复说：“这次我抢在杰弗里前面了，”她说她前一天刚去过那家沙龙。

2016年情人节前夕，爱泼斯坦的助理写信给鲁姆勒：“杰弗里想让我今天或明天为您安排一次完整的SPA体验。” 鲁姆勒就城里几家SPA的空位情况来回沟通了一番后，建议道：“我打算周一去Fekkai看看能不能做个头发，如果他们开门的话。也许杰弗里会想去？”

鲁姆勒的发言人杰米·施利希尔告诉CNN，鲁姆勒“每年大概在那里剪十次头发”，而且“除了有一次之外，每次都是付钱”。鲁姆勒曾表示，她对爱泼斯坦的罪行毫不知情，并后悔曾与他有过接触。