Prince Andrew loses corporate sponsors following Jeffrey Epstein scandal

Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY
Prince Andrew loses corporate sponsors following Jeffrey Epstein scandal

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the timing of the end of two of Prince Andrew’s corporate sponsorship deals. It has since been updated.

Britain's Prince Andrew is facing fallout over his controversial link to former friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

During a rare televised interview with BBC Saturday, the Duke of York emphatically denied once again that he slept with one of Epstein's alleged "sex slaves" when she was 17.

But Queen Elizabeth II's younger son faced backlash for his lack of empathy for the victims and for defending his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in his federal jail cell in August while awaiting new sex trafficking charges.

As Andrew's connection to Epstein made headlines in recent months, corporate sponsors started to pull their support and distance themselves from the prince's Pitch@Palace networking initiative, which connects entrepreneurs with various business leaders.

More: Prince Andrew’s televised rebuttal to Jeffrey Epstein accuser deemed 'disastrous' PR

Britain's Prince Andrew's effort to put the Jeffrey Epstein scandal behind him may have instead done him irreparable harm.
Britain's Prince Andrew's effort to put the Jeffrey Epstein scandal behind him may have instead done him irreparable harm.

Cisco Systems told USA TODAY it cut ties with Prince Andrew's networking program in April 2019. The company's final work with the program was in June.

Accounting firm KPMG terminated its sponsorship with the duke in October, according to CNN and Sky News. (KPMG declined to comment to USA TODAY.)

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca may follow suit. USA TODAY has confirmed the company's partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire at the end of the year, and is currently being reviewed.

More: Prince Andrew, in 'no holds barred' interview with BBC, says he doesn't remember meeting accuser

Prince Andrew founded Pitch@Palace in 2014 to give "entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet the people who can help make their business dreams become a reality," by connecting them with CEOs, influencers, mentors and business partners.

Contributing: Maria Puente

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Andrew loses sponsors amid Jeffrey Epstein scandal