Hot & Not in Hollywood

Behind the sequins:

How Trump’s pageants blurred the line between glamour and grooming. From teen runways to Epstein’s pipeline, the silence was engineered.

In 1998, a 14-year-old girl known as “Jane” in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, stood on stage as a contestant in Donald Trump’s Miss Teen USA pageant. She had met Trump earlier at Mar-a-Lago, escorted there by Jeffrey Epstein, who would later sexually abuse her. This was confirmed in Jane’s testimony during Maxwell’s 2021 trial.

Trump owned the pageant from 1996 to 2015. During that time, four contestants from the 1997 competition told BuzzFeed that Trump walked into their dressing room while they were changing. No staff intervened. No rules were broken; there were none.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. It was a system that blurred the line between teen modeling and grooming, under the guise of pageantry.

Exploitation Funnel Table

Table showing recruitment flow from Trump’s pageants and modeling agency into Epstein’s trafficking network

Trump Model Management: A Business Built on Teen Labor

Trump Model Management (TMM), launched in 1999, recruited girls as young as 14. One model was told to lie about her age to secure jobs. Another, Alexia Palmer, sued the agency after earning just $4,980 over three years while TMM pocketed over $200,000 from her work. She lived in Trump-owned housing, paid exorbitant fees, and worked illegally on a tourist visa. These claims were detailed in BuzzFeed’s investigation.

The agency’s business model wasn’t just exploitative; it was structurally predatory. Foreign teens were lured with dreams, trapped with debt, and silenced with fear.

But Trump’s ties to Epstein weren’t limited to modeling contracts.

“Beyond the Guest List: Trump’s Deep Ties to Epstein’s Pipeline

Trump once called Epstein a “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women… on the younger side.” That quote appeared in a 2002 New York magazine profile.

By the mid-2000s, Trump claimed he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for “stealing” young female staff, including Virginia Giuffre, who was recruited from the resort’s spa, a grooming ground that blurred the line between employment and exploitation. He later admitted Epstein had recruited girls from his spa. “He stole her,” he said of Giuffre. “She had no complaints about us.”

But records show Epstein remained a member until 2007. Trump continued to associate with him, even sending a sexually suggestive letter for Epstein’s 50th birthday album, a detail reported by The Wall Street Journal. He now denies writing it and is suing for defamation.

The contradiction is glaring: Trump painted Epstein as persona non grata, yet the paper trail tells another story, spanning pageants, spas, and a teen modeling pipeline built on grooming and exploitation. And now, the system that protected them is protecting the files.

Why This Matters Now

The Department of Justice recently announced it would not release further Epstein files, despite prior promises. The decision sparked outrage across the political spectrum. Even Trump’s own supporters demanded transparency, as seen in reactions on X (formerly Twitter).

Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence, has been subpoenaed to testify before Congress. Her request for immunity was denied. The public wants answers, not only about Epstein but about the systems that enabled him.

And Trump’s businesses were part of that system.

Release the Epstein Files, Protect the Girls

Mar-a-Lago wasn’t just a resort; it became a recruitment ground. Virginia Giuffre was pulled from its spa and handed over to Epstein, with Trump later brushing it off: “She had no complaints about us.”

This isn’t a partisan scandal. It’s a pattern of abuse that thrived in plain sight. Girls were groomed, exploited, and discarded, while powerful men looked the other way.

Demand the release of the Epstein files. Demand answers from Trump Model Management. Demand justice for every girl who stood on that stage, walked that runway, or worked that spa.

The files exist. The girls deserve more than silence.

~ * ~ Stay tuned, stay savage, stay sparkly — Holly out. ~ * ~