Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyer Questions Massage Therapist’s ‘Hazy’ Memory: ‘Your Story Is Like the U.S. Economy. There Was Inflation’
After a massage therapist, known as Jane Doe No. 3, testified about being assaulted numerous times by Harvey Weinstein, the convicted rapist’s lawyer questioned her on the stand for hours, focusing on what he called her “hazy” memory of the alleged incidents and why she was engaging in a book deal with Weinstein’s company if he had sexually assaulted her.
Jane Doe No. 3 gave graphic testimony earlier in the week and told the jury that Weinstein had masturbated in front of her and groped her breasts during an appointment when she was hired to give him a massage. After the first assault, she agreed to see Weinstein three more times for massage appointments or business meetings and claims he masturbated in front of her each subsequent time. All the while, Weinstein had offered her a book deal through his publishing company, and she had communicated with his staff about a potential book, which would have been titled “Naked Massage.”
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“Would you agree that you have suffered from a lack of memory of a lot of the essentials that happened with you and Mr. Weinstein?” defense attorney Mark Werksman asked Jane Doe No. 3, calling her memory “hazy, blocked and blurry.”
“I understand you want to attribute it to a faulty memory, but I want to be clear for this jury,” Werksman said while prodding Jane Doe No. 3 about the details of her allegations. Throughout his lengthy cross-examination, Weinstein’s attorney also asked about texts, journal entries and a recording that could serve as evidence of the alleged attacks.
Related video: Weinstein's LA rape trial opened in October with graphic details
Jane Doe No. 3 was on the stand over the course of three days. During cross-examination, Werksman brought up several instances where her “recollection changed over time,” including her first encounter with Weinstein at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on May 11, 2010, when she alleges he cornered her in a bathroom to masturbate in front of her and grab her breasts.
“You testified yesterday that he was on the table under the sheets [and] covered up when the massage began,” Werksman said. He then explained that during Jane Doe No. 3’s initial interview with detectives in October 2019, she recalled stepping into the bathroom to give Weinstein a chance to undress and get under the sheets before his massage session, and when she stepped out of the bathroom, Weinstein was standing in the hotel room, completely naked.
“I wish I didn’t leave that out because that’s pretty traumatic as well,” Jane Doe No. 3 replied. “The first incident between Harvey and I wasn’t blurry … but I wasn’t able to give them all the details,” she said, explaining that she was embarrassed and that the trauma is difficult to speak about. “When you talk about something traumatic that happened to you, you recall more memories,” she added.
“I blocked out a lot of memories,” she later said of her interview with detectives. “At the time, I did not recall everything that happened.”
Werksman asked if she worked with a therapist or a healer to help “recover lost memories” to which she responded, “They didn’t help me recover lost memories, they were open to me discussing my truth.”
Werksman proceeded to question Jane Doe No. 3 about the details of the incident, specifically whether Weinstein was groping her over her clothing or actually touched her skin when she said he grabbed her breasts. (Without skin-to-skin contact, Weinstein could not be charged with sexual battery.)
“Your response was crystal clear, it was over your clothing, right? … And you said, ‘Skin-to-skin, no he did not,'” Werksman asked, referring to Jane Doe No. 3’s 2019 interview with detectives. After saying she was embarrassed to answer the question at the time, Werksman responded, “Regardless of your motivation, you straight out 100% denied that Mr. Weinstein touched you skin-to-skin.”
“Did anybody tell you before your next interview that you’ve got to get this one right?” Werksman asked. Weinstein’s attorney noted that she changed her story from, “‘It didn’t happen at all,’ to ‘I’m 95% sure,’ to ‘I’m 100% sure.'”
“Your story is like the U.S. economy — there was inflation,” Werksman remarked.
When she was asked questions on redirect by prosecutor, deputy D.A. Marlene Martinez, Jane Doe No. 3 again clarified why her story changed, specifically in regards to the skin-to-skin contact, and was honest about the fact that she had not initially told detectives that he groped her breasts under her bra.
“What caused you to recall that the defendant had touched you skin-to-skin?” Martinez asked. Jane Doe No. 3 replied, “Throughout the years, you just hide the memories, so you don’t have to just think about it.” Martinez asked, “You had blocked this memory from your brain?” to which Jane Doe No. 3 responded by explaining that she began to open her mind to these memories later on, the more she spoke about her alleged assault.
Earlier in the trial, the prosecution brought in an expert witness, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Ziv, to educate the jury on typical behaviors of rape and sexual assault victims. One of those common behaviors is having a complicated memory relating to traumatic events. Dr. Ziv explained that memories central trauma are easier to remember than smaller details of an attack. “If people don’t report promptly, they say they don’t remember years later,” Ziv said when she testified. “It’s not that they’re lying … people try to give their best … they are trying to remember.”
When describing how Jane Doe No. 3 stayed in the bathroom after the sexual assault and watched Weinstein shower, Werksman asked why she didn’t leave at that point. “I was paralyzed. I was shocked,” she explained with tears welling up in her eyes. “I just got sexually assaulted.”
Following a 15-minute break to give Jane Doe No. 3 a chance to compose herself, Werksman questioned her about the potential book deal she and Weinstein had discussed during their first massage session in May. When she initially testified, she told jurors that he is the one who brought up a book deal, though she had never considered authoring a book. She also said that Weinstein would repeatedly text her and invite her to movie premieres, some of which she attended. Other times, she would avoid Weinstein.
“Did you believe that writing a book would benefit you somehow?” Werksman asked. She replied, “Yes, of course.”
Werksman showed Jane Doe No. 3 a binder of emails she exchanged with Weinstein’s employees from Miramax Books, which, he said, revealed her “expression of enthusiasm for this project.” When she testified, Jane Doe No. 3 explained that Weinstein put her in touch with his employees and would continuously bring up the idea of a book deal each time she saw him.
After her cross-examination wrapped up, Jane Doe No. 3 quietly cried as she was escorted out of the courtroom.
Following her three-day testimony, lawyers for Jane Doe 3 issued a statement to Variety, applauding their client for withstanding “aggressive cross-examination” from Weinstein’s defense.
“We are incredibly proud of our client, Jane Doe 3, who courageously came forward to report that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her,” said attorneys Lisa Banks, Debra Katz and Genie Harrison. “For three days, she valiantly described the attack and the trauma he caused her and withstood aggressive cross-examination by Weinstein’s counsel who appeared to take pleasure in attacking her testimony because it became more complete over time as is typical of many sexual assault survivors. We have every confidence that the jury will see through these shameless tactics and convict Weinstein for his crimes.”
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