Ex-Prince Andrew's Epstein Book 'Cancelled' as Author Flees For Safety After Threats: Report

For five grueling years, author Sarah McCarthy devoted herself entirely to documenting one woman's descent into hell — a meticulous chronicle of how a talented psychology student and aspiring model was groomed, trafficked and abused across two continents by Jeffrey Epstein and his network of enablers.

The book, Blue Butterfly: Inside the Diary of an Epstein Survivor, was weeks away from publication when McCarthy made a devastating announcement on Monday Jan. 26 that reverberated far beyond the publishing world. The project was being shelved indefinitely, cancelled due to what McCarthy described in visceral terms as 'sustained physical and electronic harassment' from unnamed sources intent on keeping her silent.

The move came less than three months before its scheduled April 13 release, leaving observers scrambling to understand who had the power and motive to suppress such explosive allegations about a man now stripped of all royal titles. For Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly known as Prince Andrew — the timing could hardly have been better.

When Safety Becomes the Price of Truth

McCarthy's statement conveyed genuine fear, not mere professional disappointment. 'I have experienced sustained and forceful pressure from independent, outside sources that make it impossible for me to proceed safely at this time,' she wrote, her words carefully chosen to avoid naming those responsible while making clear that physical danger had entered the equation. 'This decision has not been made lightly, but it has become necessary as a matter of personal security — not only for myself, but also for my loved ones and for those who entrusted me with their stories.'​

The phrase 'independent, outside sources' hung unanswered, a conspicuous gap in an otherwise forthright statement. McCarthy's publisher, TrineDay, echoed her concerns whilst attempting to frame the matter in measured terms. 'We at TrineDay are proud to have supported her vision and remain committed to publishing works that illuminate truth, even in the face of adversity and personal risk,' the company said. 'No author should ever be subjected to harassment simply for exercising their right to free expression.'​

Yet TrineDay also cited a secondary justification: the author had been unable to reach a contractual agreement with one of the survivors interviewed for the book, which had contributed to the decision to shelve the project. The explanation provided a veneer of legitimacy to the cancellation, though sceptics noted how conveniently it resolved what might otherwise have been a fight with powerful entities intent on preventing publication.​

The Story That Could Not Be Told

At the heart of Blue Butterfly lay a narrative that transcended ordinary scandal. The book centred on Juliette Bryant, a 20-year-old psychology student and aspiring model who was approached in September 2002 at a Cape Town nightspot and recruited to work on an African tour that included Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, and Chris Tucker.

Lured to the United States with promises of a Victoria's Secret modelling contract, Bryant was instead transported between Epstein's luxury homes across Florida, New York and the Caribbean for two years of systematic abuse and trafficking. The Blue Butterfly narrative promised something more disturbing than previous accounts: evidence of Epstein's obsession with eugenics, artificial intelligence, cloning, and transhumanism — and how he used vulnerable young women as unwitting participants in his pseudoscientific experiments.​

Most chillingly, the final entry in Bryant's pink notebook documented her trip to Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, where she awoke paralysed as a female doctor performed an undisclosed procedure on her without consent. Unlike other survivors' accounts that focused primarily on sexual trafficking, McCarthy's book promised to expose the architecture of complicity that enabled such horrors to continue undetected.​

The Spectre of Deeper Connections

What terrified those invested in maintaining Andrew's faded reputation was not merely what Bryant knew, but what McCarthy's investigation had uncovered about the royal's involvement with Epstein's network. While Bryant herself claimed never to have met Andrew directly, McCarthy's five years of research had repeatedly surfaced the royal's name through her broader enquiries into the machinery of exploitation.​

As early as October 2025, insiders warned of the book's destructive potential. 'Just when you think there cannot be any more allegations about Andrew and Epstein, more come out,' one confidant told the Mirror. 'The book proves we do not know the true extent of their friendship. It threatens serious repercussions, not just for Andrew but for everyone who has protected him. If Andrew is connected to the deeper networks McCarthy describes, the fallout will be severe.'​

The implication was stark: Andrew's complicity may have extended far beyond the friendship previously acknowledged, potentially implicating him in the machinery of trafficking, experimentation, and global networks of abuse.

The Machinery of Suppression

McCarthy's final statement revealed the existential choice she faced. 'There are moments when protecting life, health and equilibrium must take precedence over pushing forward, even when the truth feels urgent,' she wrote with quiet dignity. 'I share this not to provoke speculation or fear, but in the hope that establishing a clear boundary will allow me to return to a normal, grounded, and quiet life.'​

Yet she refused to surrender entirely to despair. 'I believe that truth has its own timing and will ultimately be revealed,' McCarthy said cryptically. 'I have played my part. For now, I am choosing stillness, safety, and trust in a higher order.'​

What remained profoundly unclear was the identity of those who had pressured her. McCarthy gave no clues, offering no names and no specific details about the nature of the threats beyond their physical and electronic dimensions. This reticence itself spoke volumes, suggesting either genuine fear of escalating repercussions or a deliberate choice to protect herself and those she loved.​

From Scandal to Exile

The backdrop to the book's cancellation was Andrew's precipitous fall from royal grace. It was Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir, published in October 2025, that detailed her own sexual abuse allegations involving the father of two, ultimately leading King Charles III to strip him of all royal titles and honours. On 30 October 2025, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would henceforth be referred to simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, no longer a prince.

He was additionally required to vacate his residence at Royal Lodge and relocate to a private property, a public humiliation that signalled the definitive end of his royal career. What had once seemed the unthinkable — the stripping of a senior royal of his titles and the exile from public life — had come to pass, driven by the courage of a woman who took her own life before witnessing the full reckoning she deserved.

Yet even as Andrew descended into obscurity, the machinery that had protected him remained intact. McCarthy's silenced testimony was perhaps the clearest evidence that some truths were still considered too dangerous to publish, some networks too powerful to expose, and some men too well-protected to face complete accountability.