Harvey Weinstein Rape Accuser Says He Tried to Film Them Having Sex
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A key witness in the Harvey Weinstein trial took the witness stand for a third day on Tuesday, a day after the trial was halted when she broke down in sobs during cross-examination.
Jessica Mann, who claims that Weinstein sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions, testified that she also caught Weinstein trying to film them having sex.
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“He had his cell phone with the camera facing this way,” she said.
Weinstein’s attorney Donna Rotunno asked how she reacted. “I freaked out,” she said.
Mann was pressed about why she continued to have a relationship with Weinstein after he allegedly raped her. She has admitted that they had sex on several occasions, but claimed she was scared about breaking off contact with Weinstein, who was one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood.
Rotunno asked Mann if she had consensual sex with Weinstein on a particular occasion in 2016. “That’s what you want it to be,” Mann shot back.
Rotunno drilled into correspondence between the movie producer and Mann, citing email exchanges where she seemed open to meeting up with the mogul and others where she shared with him details of a breakup. In one email, Mann cancels plans to see Weinstein, saying she was sick.
“He’s not mad at you that you can’t see him?” asked Rotunno. “He tells you to feel better, right?”
Later, Mann acknowledged that she asked Weinstein to sponsor her for a membership in Soho House.
“So you want the ladies and gentlemen of the jury to know that the person that you wanted to sponsor you for this exclusive club was your rapist?” Rotunno asked.
Mann answered: “I do want the jury to know that he is my rapist and I hope I can continue to explain the dynamic of why I engaged with him.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Italian actor Emanuela Postacchini testified that Weinstein pressured her and Mann to have a threesome in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2013. That encounter ended with Mann fleeing the room in tears, Postacchini said.
Mann is one of two key witnesses in the criminal case against Weinstein. The movie producer, whose credits include “Shakespeare in Love” and “Lion,” is charged with rape, criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault related to Mann’s allegations and those of Miriam Haley, a former production assistant. He faces life in prison if convicted.
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