In a statement provided to Business Insider in July, Siegal said:
"I believe I met Jeffrey Epstein sometime in 2005, and we became social friends as he was somewhat of a film buff who wanted to come to film screenings ... I did not know at the time — and did not learn until recently — that he had been abusing underage girls. When Jeffrey returned from Palm Beach and his time in jail, I understood that he had spent time in jail for soliciting a prostitute, and he assured me that he had changed his ways. I did not believe that the charges were very serious because I knew he was allowed to work from his office every day ... I am horrified as each of these women come forward and the accusations mount. I am deeply embarrassed by my relationship with him and that I allowed him to use me."
Before her relationship with Epstein was revealed, Siegal was a prominent New York publicist who has organized promotional screenings for films including "The Big Short," "Argo," and "The Revenant," Business Insider reported. Since then, she has only hosted one event, according to Vanity Fair.
Siegal complained about the uneven consequences for associating with Epstein in a January interview with Vanity Fair. "The men are fine," Siegal said. "They're moving on with their billions, and their jets, and their families, and their businesses. It's — it's a little — it's just odd that a single woman who's done nothing but kill herself for filmmakers has had to suffer like this. It's completely unfair."