4 weeks ago
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Iona Cleave
February 3, 2026 — 8:37am
Donald Trump has threatened to sue comedian Trevor Noah over his joke during the Grammy Awards suggesting the US president had been to Jeffrey Epstein’s island.
Trump strongly denied the claims that he had visited Little St James, where much of Epstein’s abuse of young women and girls took place, calling Noah a “pathetic, talentless” comedian and a “total loser”.
Noah, who hosted the awards ceremony on Sunday night (Monday AEDT), told the crowd that every artist wanted to win song of the year “almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because, since Epstein’s gone, he needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton”.
The US justice department released three million more documents related to the paedophile on Friday, in which Trump is mentioned 38,000 times along with a string of high-profile figures such as Bill Gates and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Epstein’s privately owned Little St James in the US Virgin Islands, which became known as Epstein Island, is where he trafficked and abused underage victims.
Trump, who has been dogged with controversy surrounding his former friendship with Epstein, has said the documents “absolved” him. The justice department said it had not found credible information to merit further investigation into Trump’s association with the sex trafficker.
On his Truth Social network, Trump wrote: “Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media.”
He told South African-born Noah to get his facts straight “fast”. “It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$.”
Trump decried this year’s awards, which honour the best music from around the world, as “the WORST, virtually unwatchable” and “garbage litter”.
The stars of the night frequently spoke out about the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of Trump’s mass deportation campaign and its aggressive tactics that led to two US citizens being shot dead in Minneapolis.
Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper who won album of the year, was one of the most vocal. “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ‘ICE out’,” he told the audience, which cheered in response. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
Billie Eilish, who won Song of the Year for Wildflower, wore an “ICE Out” pin as she urged people to stand up against ICE’s raids. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said, finishing with: “F--- ICE.”
Trump noticeably avoided attacking the anti-ICE musicians, instead saving his rage for Noah, who was hosting for the sixth time and last time – because he said he believes in term limits.
Taking a swipe at Trump’s determination to run for a third term, he said: “Yes, I want to set an example for anyone who might be watching the show. You know, just leave when your time is up.”
In recent years, Trump has pursued aggressive legal action against a number of media outlets, including the New York Times, the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.
The president filed a $10bn lawsuit against the BBC in December, accusing the broadcaster of defamation after The Telegraph disclosed the broadcaster had doctored his Jan 6 speech.
The Telegraph, London
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