Ashley James broke down in tears on This Morning today speaking about the reaction of Virginia Giuffre’s family to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
Andrew was arrested yesterday (February 19) on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. Virginia was one of the most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein. She took her own life in April 2025.
Yesterday, her family spoke out, welcoming the investigation into Andrew. Today (February 20), it was discussed on This Morning, with Ashley, Gyles Brandreth and Russell Myers.
This Morning star Ashley James in tears
After a clip of Virginia’s family played out, hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond first spoke to Ashley, who is a survivor of sexual assault.
“I felt very emotional watching this actually,” said Ashley, speaking about the family’s statement. “I feel very emotional because, erm, there’s a reason that I feel so upset about it, umm, because,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“So many of us have watched, sorry I just feel so upset, so many of us have watched the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein try to get justice. And I felt a huge sense of relief yesterday watching Andrew be arrested.
“But of course this isn’t… his arrest is about state matters and not the alleged sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre, who is of course no longer here. I think the fact that it took us so long and she is no longer here, for justice to be served, and as Virginia’s brother said yesterday, this feels like the thread that is starting to be unravelled and hopefully we will see accountability.”
‘I want to commend her bravery’
She then explained why it “feels so personal for lots of women and girls watching this”. Ashley, who recently revealed she was raped at uni, continued: “Because the atrocities linked to Jeffrey Epstein and everyone who, not only was part of that but knew about it… It feels personal because as a survivor of sexual assault, you question the system that makes it so difficult for survivors to speak out.
“And I just want to commend the bravery of Virginia Giuffre and the other survivors. Because as her brother rightly said, if it wasn’t for her coming forward, and also not being believed, then perhaps we wouldn’t have uncovered this about Andrew and so many other things that will also hopefully come out.”
She concluded: “We want to see accountability and we want to know that the law and the system doesn’t protect people in power, it protects us. And if they want a society that abides by the law, it doesn’t matter if you’re a politician, part of the royal family, you are held to account. And I commend King Charles for saying that he will follow the law. But I also wonder why it’s taken so long.”
This Morning viewers react to Ashley James’ tears
Ashley’s tears didn’t exactly get a sympathetic reaction from This Morning viewers. As she reached for the tissues, cruel keyboard warriors were out in force, accusing her of ‘faking’ her tears.
“Urgh here she goes,” said one. “God now we have tears,” said another. “Oh Ashley! You’re embarrassing yourself. No need for the fake tears, the story is horrific. We know! Behave,” another urged.
“God, she really tried to get those tears out then didn’t you? Blink? Blink,” another cruel viewer commented. “Ashley is so performative!” another added.
Ashley was raped by a ‘friend’
Former Made in Chelsea star Ashley James recently revealed that she was raped by someone she considered a “friend” while she was at university.
Writing in her new book Bimbo, Ashely shared the reason she didn’t report the sexual assault to the police. She said: “Not because I thought the police wouldn’t believe me, or that the courts would fail me, but because the man wasn’t a stranger in a dark alley. He was a friend. And because of that, the only person I blamed was myself. For years. Even after it happened, I was more worried about him not liking me than I was about my own trauma. I was worried he’d tell other people and everyone would think I was a slag. So I didn’t tell anyone, and I even tried to stay friends with him.
“Even now I find it hard to think about him as a rapist. Even though that’s what he was, because I wasn’t asking for it. In fact, I was unconscious. I’d worry about ruining his life. Yes, I was drunk. Yes, I was wearing going-out clothes, having come from a club. But I was with friends – people I trusted. We don’t teach girls that, one day, if they get the chance, their male friends might try to rape them. It doesn’t matter what you are wearing [or] if you had zero drinks or 1,000 drinks.”
Read more: Alison Hammond sparks backlash after ‘unprofessional’ remark about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
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