To be sure, survivors are not taking for granted the notion that a Democratic Congress would move such measures forward. But they have recognized that they might have some say about that.
“Survivors are powerful,” said Elisa Batista, the campaign director of UltraViolet, a gender equity nonprofit that worked with Giuffre’s brothers to organize a vigil for her. “We have the numbers. Please vote.”
After a campaign from feminist organizations including UltraViolet, Apple implemented new App Store restrictions on “nudify” apps that can generate nonconsensual intimate imagery. Now, Google must do the same on its Play Store.
Public outcry and an UltraViolet pressure campaign led the platform to take down a prediction market allowing users to bet on the horrific sexual abuse case.
Protesters have put up a display outside the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York to illustrate the links between Leon Black, trustee at the museum, and Jeffrey Epstein. Black, who became chair of the museum board in 2018, stepped down amid calls for his removal in 2021, but has remained a trustee.
During the protest, which according to Hyperallergic was attended by some two dozen people, the Institute of Primary Facts parked its ‘Bookmobile’ – a converted food truck containing bound volumes of the released Epstein files, in which Black is mentioned thousands of times – outside the museum.
"Several national organizations are working to bring survivors and our allies together to demand systemic change. Organizations like mine, me too. International, along with the National Women's Law Center and UltraViolet, are on the front lines organizing survivor leaders, fighting for survivors in courtrooms, and keeping people engaged on these issues."
UltraViolet, as well as other gender justice, tech accountability, and pro-democracy organizations, have launched a joint campaign in response. In a petition with over 29,000 signatures at the time of this writing, they call on Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri to stop censoring posts about the Cornell case.
The assembly outside MoMA also included Epstein survivors and members of We Are UltraViolet and the research initiative Time & Memory Project. Nicole Regalado, vice president of campaigns at We Are UltraViolet, told Hyperallergic, “By serving on MoMA’s board, whether it’s intentional or not, MoMA is helping to sanitize Leon Black’s reputation.”
Black became the chairman of MoMA’s board in 2018 and stepped down in 2021 amid a call for his removal by more than 150 artists, though he remained a trustee.
Alongside a handful of Epstein survivors, a small group of organisers for the Institute for Primary Facts and the feminist non-profit UltraViolet urged passersby to explore the documents in the truck. The project is a mobile iteration of the 3.5-million-document Trump-Epstein reading room, which opened in Tribeca in May to raise awareness of Epstein’s network of alleged co-conspirators. The truck houses 440 books of the files, including volumes dedicated to references to US President Donald Trump. It also features community comments and a selection of paintings by Maria Farmer, one of the first women to accuse Epstein.
“I’m very disappointed to see people visiting the MoMA today, and I think it’s important that those folks become educated as to who Leon Black is,” Elisa Batista, a campaign director with UltraViolet, told the Art Newspaper. “We’re OK with not seeing the art in the MoMA as long as they keep enabling this abuser.”
Billionaire Leon Black is still on the board of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). And for anyone who cares about the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, the protection of women, and justice being served, this should be a problem. The latest protest calling for Black’s removal took place yesterday just down the block from MoMA, led by UltraViolet, a women’s advocacy group, alongside the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Bookmobile, a physical presentation of all 3.5 million Epstein files released by the Department of Justice to date.
“It’s outrageous that someone who has been credibly accused and held in contempt of Congress is sitting on the MoMA board, [at] such a prestigious institution,” Elisa Batista, UltraViolet’s campaign director, told me. UltraViolet launched its Epstein Accountability Project to hold accountable the wealthy and powerful who enabled Epstein and participated in his abuse of over 1,200 women and girls.
We’re launching a nationwide effort to hold the powerful people connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s network of abuse accountable. From rapid-response campaigns to high-visibility public actions, we’re making sure the 1,000+ survivors’ calls for justice are heard — not ignored. Give today to help keep the pressure on.