Tony Hawk is officially done with the internet’s nonsense. The skateboarding legend took to Instagram this week to squash some truly bizarre rumors claiming he got married on Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous private island. Yes, you read that right. The Birdman himself had to address conspiracy theories about tying the knot at Little Saint James.
“Here are the facts and timelines of my nuptials, and I apologize if they don’t fit a narrative of nonsense,” Hawk wrote in his Instagram story. And honestly? That’s the kind of energy we need more of when dealing with wild online speculation.
Where the Rumors Actually Started
This whole mess traces back to recently released FBI files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. An email from October 2024 mentioned an alleged trafficking victim who claimed she was taken to Epstein’s island at age 13. In that same email, she reportedly said “Tony Hawk got married on the island” during one of her visits there.
The Department of Justice dropped these files as part of a transparency push, and naturally, the entertainment world went into overdrive. But here’s the thing about documents like these: they contain allegations and claims that aren’t automatically verified facts.
The Real Wedding Locations
Hawk laid it all out clearly. He’s been married four times, and here’s where those ceremonies actually happened: his home in Fallbrook, California, the Hilton Hotel in San Diego, Tavarua Surf Island in Fiji, and Adare Manor in Ireland. Notice anything missing from that list? Yeah, a creepy private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The skateboarder was pretty emphatic about this point. He’s never met Jeffrey Epstein. He’s never been to that island. “This is all easily verifiable information,” he wrote. “Facts are not fungible.”
The Confusing Epstein Connection
There is one weird coincidence that probably threw gasoline on this fire. A photographer at Hawk’s 2006 wedding in Fiji was named Mark Epstein. Same name as Jeffrey Epstein’s younger brother. You can see how people might connect dots that shouldn’t be connected.
But plot twist: this Mark Epstein is just an accomplished action sports photographer from Wyoming who has absolutely zero relation to the convicted sex trafficker. Wrong guy, same name. It happens. But in the age of social media and news moving at lightning speed, nuance gets lost pretty quickly.
When Misinformation Spreads Like Wildfire
This whole situation highlights something pretty troubling about how we consume information now. FBI documents get released, someone spots a celebrity name, and within hours it’s a full-blown conspiracy theory spreading across platforms. No verification needed, apparently.
Hawk calling it out directly was the right move. Sometimes you just have to get ahead of the nonsense before it takes on a life of its own. Independent journalism exists to provide context and separate fact from fiction, but even that struggles against the sheer velocity of online rumors.
The skateboarder’s response was measured but firm. He didn’t let the accusations just sit there, festering and growing more distorted with each share and retweet. He provided receipts, clarified the timeline, and called out the misinformation for what it was.
It’s wild that in 2026, a legendary athlete has to spend his Thursday debunking claims that he got married at a sex trafficker’s island, but here we are. Maybe the real question is why we’re so quick to believe the most sensational version of every story without asking for actual evidence first.
