Jeffrey Epstein helped Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn as one of their daughters was applying to colleges, connecting the family with the president of Bard College, a long-time acquaintance of Epstein, emails released by the US justice department show.
Bard College’s president, Leon Botstein, agreed to help, and the couple’s daughter Bechet Allen ended up attending Bard College in New York, graduating in May 2021, according to her LinkedIn account.
“I can’t thank you enough for getting Bechet into Bard,” a message to Epstein dated January 11th, 2017 said. The message is from the account of Woody Allen, but appears to be written by Previn, who mentions Allen in the note.
Bechet Allen did not appear to know that her family was seeking help for her application.
“I think it’s best that Bechet struggles and doesn’t know ahead of time that she got in so that when she gets into Bard she will have sweated it out a bit and will really want to go,” the sender added.
“Thank you for coming through for us. Woody said when Bechet sets fire to the school they’ll have you to thank.”
Woody Allen and Previn did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent through a spokesperson. Bechet Allen also did not respond to separate messages.
In a statement, David Wade, a spokesperson for Botstein, said that Epstein was “a serial liar who apparently took credit for the sun rising each day”.
“The applicant referenced in the emails was accepted on the merits of her own qualifications for admission,” the statement said. “Bard had already provided a welcome community for two previous family members, and no introduction was needed from the likes of Epstein.”
Bard College admits about 40 per cent of its applicants.
The spokesperson said that Botstein “often reassures anxious parents and families navigating the admissions process, and responds to scores of requests each year for tours or admissions conversations from alumni, supporters and people in the broader community, as he has done through 50 years.”
He added: “The only difference here is Epstein’s apparent effort to convince a family that his voice was of consequence.”
The emails were among about three million pages of documents collected by the US justice department as part of its years-long investigation into Epstein – who died by suicide in jail in 2019 – and released late last month.
The documents include new details about the relationship between prominent figures, among them US president Donald Trump and former US president Bill Clinton, and Epstein. Previously released documents showed how Epstein wielded his influence and connections in higher education, maintaining friendships with influential academics such as Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard University, for years.
Epstein’s friendship with Woody Allen had been known for years. The film-maker and Previn often visited Epstein at his Upper East Side town house. The latest trove of documents show that Epstein also sought to assist Allen in making films, including looking for potential cast members.
“woody allen is looking for a beautiful =0-24 girl to play a college girl in a comedy. thoughts?” Epstein wrote to a photographer.
Epstein had known Botstein, the long-time president of Bard, for years. In interviews with the New York Times in 2023, Botstein, an energetic fundraiser, said he was trying to woo Epstein to donate to his school. Keeping his small liberal arts college afloat often meant seeking cash from unsavoury donors, he told the newspaper in 2023. “Capitalism is a rough system,” he said at the time.
The exchanges about Bechet Allen’s interest in Bard occurred in 2016. In early November, Epstein emailed Botstein, saying that Bechet Allen was considering Bard and asking that he co-ordinate a trip with Previn. The same day, Previn wrote to the college president: “Thank you so much for your offer to help our daughter, Bechet Allen, get into Bard College. I will take you up on the offer.;)”
Botstein said that he would be “delighted to help” and scheduled a visit.
Two months later, Bechet Allen emailed Botstein to say Bard was her first choice, an email that Previn forwarded to Epstein. Botstein said he would pass along her sentiment to the admissions committee.
The next day, shortly after Epstein instructed the couple to call Botstein, the couple sent their effusive thank-you note to Epstein.
This article originally appeared in the New York Times.
