In April 2026, online users shared a rumor claiming an image showed a younger U.S. first lady Melania Trump, formerly Melania Knauss, posing partially nude with a briefcase filled with jewelry on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's airplane.
Users shared this claim on Bluesky (archived), Facebook (archived), Reddit, X (archived) and other platforms, including an image meme reading, "Fun fact: This famous picture of first lady Melania Trump was taken on Jeffrey Epstein's plane." Snopes received reader mail asking whether the posts were accurate.
(@judithbolyard.bsky.social/Bluesky)
In short, users placed false captions on an authentic picture of Trump, so we've rated this image miscaptioned. The photo itself is real and was not manipulated with artificial intelligence or other image-editing software. GQ magazine's January 2000 issue credited photographer Antoine Verglas with capturing the pictures on President Donald Trump's former Boeing 727 — not an Epstein-owned aircraft.
Some users shared the rumor after Melania Trump's April 9, 2026, statement distancing herself from Epstein and his associate, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. She said, "To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice Maxwell." She later added she never traveled on Epstein's airplane, saying, "I have never had any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane and never visited his private island."
We contacted a spokesperson for the first lady and also Verglas to ask about this matter but did not receive responses.
GQ republished photos in 2016
On Nov. 8, 2016 — the date of Donald Trump's first Election Day victory — GQ reported once again about the pictures from the photo shoot for the January 2000 issue, including noting where Verglas captured the images:
Sixteen years ago we profiled Donald Trump's then-girlfriend Melania Knauss. Now his wife, Melania featured in our naked profile shoot on his customised Boeing 727 wearing handcuffs, wielding diamonds and holding a chrome pistol (it was the lads mag era after all). It makes for some interesting reading today, considering Donald Trump's success in the US election…
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"We were bombarded by requests to shoot Melania," GQ editor Dylan Jones said when asked about our January 2000 nude shoot with Melania Trump, after we had dug through the archives and published the images online in March 2016. "Given that she was obviously so keen to be featured in GQ, we came up with a rather kitsch and camp story for her to feature in." Donald Trump also requested that photographs be delivered to his office. "We framed the cover and a selection of prints and sent them as soon as we could."
The WorthPoint antiques, art and collectibles archiving company hosted images of the original print edition of GQ's January 2000 issue, including a picture showing a photo caption mentioning Trump's Boeing 727 as the shoot's location.
Melania Trump defends nude modeling photos
In September 2024, Melania Trump — ahead of the release of her memoir, "Melania" — shared a statement (archived) on social media defending her nude modeling photos. The statement read:
Melania Trump speaks about her nude modeling work:
"Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work? The more pressing question is - why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photoshoot? Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body? Throughout history, master artists have revered the human shape, evoking profound emotions and admiration. We should honor our bodies and embrace the timeless tradition of using art as a powerful means of self expression."
She also shared a video (archived) in which she read the words from the statement:
For further reading, we previously reported the truth regarding a rumor claiming Melania Trump worked as an escort before meeting Donald Trump at a party hosted by Epstein and Maxwell. In Melania Trump's April 2026 statement, she said, "I am not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, 'Melania.'"