Jessica Mendoza

It's like there's a uniform that they go for.

Emily discovered that Gates' team goes to extraordinary lengths to maintain that Mr. Rogers image.

For a long time, all that effort seemed to work.

In 2019, Gates hit a peak when it came to his popularity.

That poll published in July of 2019.

The next month, a seemingly unrelated event hit the news.

Soon after, a documentary came out on Netflix called Inside Bill's Brain, and it offered a glowing look at Gates' philanthropic second act.

The Journal interviewed Gates about the documentary at the time, asking him about his Epstein association.

Gates responded that while he met with Epstein, he didn't have any business relationship or friendship with him.

Gates and his team stuck to that messaging for years.

They claimed that his relationship with Epstein was strictly about philanthropy and that women were not present during their meetings.

Then, in 2021, Bill and Melinda announced that they were splitting up.

And Emily's recent reporting revealed that in the divorce proceedings, there were allegations that Gates was involved in more than 20 affairs.

A spokeswoman for French Gates declined to comment.

After the divorce, Gates and his team ramped up their efforts to preserve his image as a benevolent benefactor.

The documentary built up Gates as a visionary.

None of the documentary's five episodes mention Epstein.

Emily reviewed one nine-page memo in which an executive at Gates' private office shared reactions to the documentary, including some very specific concerns.

So they're choosing who gets to be in it.

So down to the facial expressions.