Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Were horses mentioned in court testimony, discovery documents, or media investigations about Maxwell?
Executive summary
Available reporting and public records show repeated references to horses as part of Ghislaine Maxwell’s personal interests (she told an interviewer she “love[s] horses”), and recent document releases and interviews mention “horses” during interviews with prosecutors, but there is no authoritative court testimony, discovery filing, or investigative report that establishes Maxwell owned a horse named “Bubba”; multiple fact-checks and spokespeople have rejected the specific “Bubba” ownership claim (Lead Stories/Fact-checks summarized in reporting) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Grand jury and court materials released or litigated in 2020–2025 have been closely examined by news organizations and judges, and judges have at times kept records sealed because they added little new information beyond trial testimony [5] [6] [7].
1. Horses appear in Maxwell’s own remarks and in interviews — but not as courtroom evidence
Ghislaine Maxwell publicly discussed liking horses — for example, in a 2023 TalkTV interview she recounted bonding with the late Queen over horses — and Justice Department interview transcripts from July 2025 contain the word “horses” in the redacted record of her interview with DOJ officials [1] [8]. Those references establish horses as part of her personal background and topics raised in investigative interviews, but they are not the same as formal trial testimony or discovery exhibits asserting ownership of a particular animal [8].
2. The “Bubba” horse claim arose on social media and in viral memes, not in court papers
The idea that Maxwell owned a horse named “Bubba” originated in social-media speculation after release of Epstein-era emails; reporting and fact-checkers trace the claim to online posts and fabricated screenshots rather than any legal filing or credible news investigation [1] [3] [9]. Lead Stories and other fact-checkers flagged a fake AP screenshot and noted Mark Epstein’s spokesperson said the “Bubba” reference in the email was not a horse — undermining the social-media narrative tying a specific animal named Bubba to Maxwell [3] [10].
3. Journalistic and legal records have been scrubbed for new revelations — judges say transcripts add little
When courts considered unsealing grand jury materials or depositions, judges and the government frequently noted that much of what would appear in those records had already been aired in public trial testimony and filings; a judge denied an administration request to unseal grand jury material, saying the materials would not reveal new facts beyond the trial record [5] [6] [7]. Major outlets covering Maxwell’s 2021 trial summarized graphic witness testimony and exhibits — but coverage and trial transcripts reviewed by newsrooms do not document ownership of a horse named Bubba by Maxwell [11] [12].
4. DOJ interview transcript shows “horses” were discussed, but not the social-media rumor
The redacted Justice Department interview transcript for July 24, 2025, includes the word “horses” near the start of the session, indicating the subject arose in the interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others [8]. Available transcripts do not, in the published excerpts, corroborate the viral claim that a horse named Bubba was tied to Maxwell; available sources do not mention a DOJ assertion that she owned a horse named Bubba [8].
5. Competing interpretations and a spokesman’s denial — how sources disagree
Some social posts and tabloid-style outlets amplified the Bubba-as-horse theory; fact-checkers and spokespeople pushed back. Mark Epstein’s spokesperson and media fact-checks stated the “Bubba” reference in the released email was not a horse, and the AP/Lead Stories analyses flagged fabricated screenshots that promoted the rumor [2] [3] [10]. That creates a clear split: viral social-media claims versus denials and fact-checking by journalists and people close to the estate.
6. What remains unknown and why journalists caution against leaping to conclusions
Public docket records, sealed grand jury material, redacted DOJ interviews and trial transcripts have been the subject of litigation and selective release; judges have limited disclosure when material would add little to the public record [6] [5]. Because the claim that Maxwell owned a horse named Bubba is not documented in the court filings, deposition releases, or credible investigative reporting cited above, available sources do not mention any verified ownership of a horse named Bubba by Maxwell [3] [2] [4].
Conclusion: Maxwell’s fondness for horses is documented in interviews and appears as a conversational topic in at least one DOJ interview transcript, but the specific assertion that she owned a horse named “Bubba” is unsubstantiated in court testimony, discovery records, or major investigative reporting and has been rebutted or debunked by fact-checkers and spokespeople [8] [3] [2] [4].