Prince Andrew reportedly described Virginia Giuffre as ‘a very sick girl’ following an interview she gave in 2011 about the alleged abuse she suffered from the late accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, The Daily Mail reports. After Giuffre described to the British press the type of abuse she said she went through at the hands of Epstein in February 2011, Prince Andrew's friend—Jonathan Rowland—messaged him: “Hope the press isn't getting you down to [sic] much.” “Not at all!” the prince reportedly replied. “She is a very sick girl apparently. The innuendo is the problem. But there is nothing that one can do for that! Shrug and move on,” he said, according to the Mail, which said it had seen the text message exchange. The prince declined to comment.

Giuffre has accused Prince Andrew of having sex with her three times while she was being trafficked by Epstein. The prince was also pictured wrapping his arm around Giuffre's waist while Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell stood in the background. Prince Andrew has denied Giuffre's allegation, and claimed he had no recollection of the photo being taken.