California-based skateboarding legend Tony Hawk has responded to online claims suggesting that he held one of his four weddings on Epstein Island, after his name appeared in files recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Hawk addressed the claims in an Instagram Story, clarifying the locations of his weddings. He also offered a sarcastic apology in advance, noting that the details he shared “don’t fit a narrative of nonsense.”
The “narrative of nonsense” appears to stem from the more than three million Jeffrey Epstein-related files released by the DOJ. One heavily redacted email, dated October 22, 2024, stated that the California skateboarding legend “got married on the island,” which many interpreted as a reference to Little Saint James, commonly known as Epstein Island.
The skater detailed that his first wedding to Cindy Dunbar in 1990 was held at his Fallbrook home in California. His second wedding to Erin Lee, six years later, took place at the Hilton Hotel in San Diego. In 2006, he got married to Lhotse Merriam on Tavarua Surf Island in Fiji.
In 2015, he married his current wife, Catherine Goodman, at Adare Manor in Ireland.
Unfortunate Homonyms, Reactions
Regarding his 2006 wedding, he clarified that one of the guests was an action sports photographer named Mark Epstein, based in Wyoming. He, unfortunately, shares the same name as Jeffrey Epstein’s brother Mark, but they are entirely different people.
Mark, the photographer, took photos of the Fiji wedding and licensed them to Getty Images. Hawk called this “easily verifiable information,” and apologized to Mark, who got “pulled into the misinformation vortex,” he said.
The vast majority of users, while initially worried about the email, were satisfied by Hawk’s clarification.
One person wrote, “Imagine if we lost Tony Hawk.” Another user added, “I never thought for a second that Tony Hawk would be involved in something like this. Glad everyone else now is informed!” A third joked, “More weddings than skateboards.”
Judging by the response, Tony Hawk appears to have emerged from the controversy unscathed. After all, being mentioned in the Epstein documents is no small matter. Fortunately, Hawk came prepared with receipts, and it seems he is firmly in the clear.
