Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged former madam of the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is arguably the most hated woman in the world right now after she was arrested for grooming young girls for sex with him. Now, however, a friend of Maxwell’s is rushing to her defense by saying that she is not the “cartoon caricature of a villain” that the media is portraying her as.

“This cartoon caricature of a villain she is being painted as is utterly untrue and false,” a friend of Maxwell’s told Daily Mail. “This is a real human being with real feelings.”

“Ghislaine is no Cruella de Vil,” the friend added. “She is being portrayed as this evil character and a cartoon-like villain but she is nothing like that. She is a real person and is determined to prove her innocence despite the fact that she has been characterized as some sort of monster.”

The friend defended the 58-year-old British socialite by claiming that she did not introduce Epstein to Prince Andrew, who has been accused of having sex with one of the pedophile’s underage victims.

“Ghislaine wasn’t at that party. Lynn introduced Andrew to Epstein,” the friend claimed, referring to Lynn Forester de Rothschild. “It was all about the money with Andrew and Epstein. Just wait and see. There is a lot more to come out.”

The friend also alleges that Maxwell had not seen Epstein in fifteen years before his suicide in prison last August, when he killed himself while awaiting trial for his crimes. The pal explained that Maxwell and Epstein’s romantic relationship ended in 2001, and by the time they last saw each other at a party in 2005, she had moved on to date Ted Waitt, the billionaire Gateway computer founder.

“The reality is that Ghislaine’s relationship with Epstein ended in 2001,” the friend said. “Starting in late 2002, early 2003, she was dating Ted and she loved him deeply. Epstein kept trying to woo her back but she wasn’t interested.”

Maxwell was arrested by the FBI in New Hampshire last week and hit with a six-count indictment of sex-trafficking minors and lying about the alleged crimes under oath. If convicted on all charges, Maxwell is facing 35 years in prison.

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