Latest news with #DoubleTreeHotel
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical expert talks about erectile dysfunction shot at Harvey Weinstein's NYC sex assault retrial
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein's lawyers tried to deflate one of the rape claims against him Wednesday with a medical expert's testimony on how long it takes for an erectile dysfunction injection to work. The expert, Virginia-based doctor and pharmacist Matthew Lee, told jurors that the medication, sold under the name Caverject, must be mixed by hand and injected directly into the penis, and it takes five to 20 minutes to kick in. Lee's testimony comes after one of Weinstein's three accusers at his Manhattan Supreme Court sexual assault retrial, Jessica Mann, accused the former Miramax mogul of raping her within moments of checking into a room at Midtown's DoubleTree Hotel on March 18, 2013. Mann told jurors she noticed a needle in the bathroom trash afterward, and when she looked up the medication, she learned it was used to restore function to his 'dead penis.' Lee testified that preparing the medication takes time, since a dose 'comes with a little plastic container, two bottles, a syringe and two needles,' and the process involves mixing powder with water using one needle, then drawing the mixture out with a second needle. 'After the medicine is injected into the shaft of the penis, how long does it take to take effect?' Weinstein defense lawyer Arthur Aidala asked,' with Lee responding, 'It takes anywhere from five to 20 minutes to take effect. The average is 10 to 15 minutes.' Lee, who never examined or met Weinstein, was the defense team's first witness after prosecutors rested their case, six weeks into the trial. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg grilled the doctor during her cross-examination, rattling off the various medical topics he's testified as an expert on — including opioids, homicide, drug overdoses, physical and cognitive impairments, and drug screenings. 'Yet you've never been retained as an expert in erectile dysfunction?' she asked, and Lee responded, 'Not necessarily, but there's a common theme to all those cases, and that is pharmacology.' The trial featured allegations from three accusers — Mann, former TV production assistant Miriam Haley, and Polish model and aspiring actress Kaja Sokola. Mann and Haley testified at Weinstein's 2020 Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which ended in a guilty verdict and a 23-year prison term. The state's highest court overturned the jury's guilty verdict in that case last year, ruling 4-3 that the trial court judge shouldn't have allowed testimony of 'uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes. _________
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical expert talks about erectile dysfunction shot at Harvey Weinstein's NYC sex assault retrial
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein's lawyers tried to deflate one of the rape claims against him Wednesday with a medical expert's testimony on how long it takes for an erectile dysfunction injection to work. The expert, Virginia-based doctor and pharmacist Matthew Lee, told jurors that the medication, sold under the name Caverject, must be mixed by hand and injected directly into the penis, and it takes five to 20 minutes to kick in. Lee's testimony comes after one of Weinstein's three accusers at his Manhattan Supreme Court sexual assault retrial, Jessica Mann, accused the former Miramax mogul of raping her within moments of checking into a room at Midtown's DoubleTree Hotel on March 18, 2013. Mann told jurors she noticed a needle in the bathroom trash afterward, and when she looked up the medication, she learned it was used to restore function to his 'dead penis.' Lee testified that preparing the medication takes time, since a dose 'comes with a little plastic container, two bottles, a syringe and two needles,' and the process involves mixing powder with water using one needle, then drawing the mixture out with a second needle. 'After the medicine is injected into the shaft of the penis, how long does it take to take effect?' Weinstein defense lawyer Arthur Aidala asked,' with Lee responding, 'It takes anywhere from five to 20 minutes to take effect. The average is 10 to 15 minutes.' Lee, who never examined or met Weinstein, was the defense team's first witness after prosecutors rested their case, six weeks into the trial. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg grilled the doctor during her cross-examination, rattling off the various medical topics he's testified as an expert on — including opioids, homicide, drug overdoses, physical and cognitive impairments, and drug screenings. 'Yet you've never been retained as an expert in erectile dysfunction?' she asked, and Lee responded, 'Not necessarily, but there's a common theme to all those cases, and that is pharmacology.' The trial featured allegations from three accusers — Mann, former TV production assistant Miriam Haley, and Polish model and aspiring actress Kaja Sokola. Mann and Haley testified at Weinstein's 2020 Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which ended in a guilty verdict and a 23-year prison term. The state's highest court overturned the jury's guilty verdict in that case last year, ruling 4-3 that the trial court judge shouldn't have allowed testimony of 'uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes. _________
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cross-examination focuses on Weinstein accuser Jessica Mann's long 'relationship' with movie mogul
Harvey Weinstein accuser Jessica Mann faced an array of questions in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday on how long she kept up her 'relationship' with the disgraced Hollywood studio boss even after she said he raped her. In an hours-long, often contentious cross-examination session, Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala pressed Mann on her years of communications and sexual encounters with Weinstein between 2013 and 2017, and questioned the timeline of her alleged rape in March 2013 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Midtown. 'You communicated with him and you saw him throughout the rest of that year?' Aidala asked, with Mann admitting, as she had during her direct testimony, that they'd e-mailed and called each other. 'The first time you were sexually intimate with Mr. Weinstein is 2013, and the last time you mentioned you were sexually intimate was 2016, correct?' he asked, and Mann responded, 'I would like to define sexually intimate, because it's different, but yes, there were encounters.' It's the third day of testimony by Mann, who who has accused Weinstein of raping her in a room at the DoubleTree Hotel on March 18, 2023, and again in a Beverly Hills hotel months later. Weinstein doesn't face criminal charges in the alleged Beverly Hills assault. Mann also took the stand in Weinstein's 2020 trial, but the ex-producer's guilty verdict and 23-year prison sentence was overturned by the state's highest court last year. The retrial, which is in its fifth week, also featured days of testimony from two other accusers, former TV production assistant Miriam Haley — who also took the stand in 2020 — and Polish model and aspiring actress Kaja Sokola. Aidala tried to cast doubt on Mann's telling of the DoubleTree attack, which she said happened as soon as they entered a hotel room Weinstein had booked. Mann noticed a needle in the bathroom trash afterwards, and when she looked up the medication, which had the word 'necro' in its name, she learned used to restore function to his 'dead penis,' she testified. Aidala questioned her further on that, asking if she also learned 'that it could take 20 minutes to take effect.' Mann was vacationing in New York with her roommate, Talita Maia, and an agent friend, Thomas Richards, and Aidala pointed out that they all had a meal with Weinsteins hours after the alleged attack. 'You were hoping that showing Thomas Richards you had personal access to Mr. Weinstein was going to help with your career?' Aidala asked, and she responded, 'I'll speak for myself — that is not the case.' Aidala spent much of his cross-examination having Mann read years worth of complimentary, friendly and flattering emails she wrote to Weinstein, including one where she wrote, 'You have mastered storytelling and continually are outdoing yourself and the competition. You are the best. Miss you big guy.' He also played a recording of Mann speaking to a relationship coach because her boyfriend in 2013 and 2014, an actor named Eddie, didn't approve of her interactions with Weinstein. 'I happen to have a very powerful friend, and I finally feel good about telling Eddie how the history went down with him,' she said, adding that Weinstein could 'facilitate the process so much more easily for me,' if, say, she has a script she wants to se made into a film. 'That's like taking care of me…. If I want to take myself seriously, I'm taking care of me,' she can be heard saying. Aidala also suggested Mann made the allegations to get paid, since she got about $475,000 from a victim settlement fund. 'You testified at trial that you struggled financially for your adult life. You lived in your car for a while. Your clothing was in a cardboard box… and now you have hundreds of thousands of dollars, correct?' When Aidala asked, 'Now you're rich, right?' Mann responded, 'That's a subjective term, but I am grateful.'
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Who is Jessica Mann? Ex-actress recalls being raped by Harvey Weinstein, ‘The moment where I just gave up'
Former actress Jessica Mann recently appeared on the witness stand, describing how Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped her in a 2013 Midtown hotel room. Mann, now 38, wept while recalling the alleged assault at the DoubleTree Hotel in Midtown on March 18, 2013. She alleged that Weinstein trapped her in a room, injected himself with something that treats erectile dysfunction, and then raped her. Mann was born in October 1985. She is an actress best known for This Isn't Funny (2015), Asylum: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales (2020) and Cavemen (2013). Mann happens to be the third and final accuser to testify in the retrial. Former teen model Kaja Sokola and former production assistant Miriam 'Mimi' Haley previously took the stand. "This is about the moment where I just gave up," Mann said, recalling how Weinstein blocked the door and asked her to undress, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Mann said she found a needle in the trash after the incident, with a word resembling "necro-something." "I found on Google that it basically meant 'dead penis,'" she told the jury, claiming the medicine can be used only a limited number of times. "I was freaked out. Did I get exposed to something? It was scary." However, despite the encounter, Mann said she continued to have a complex relationship with Weinstein. "I just decided to have a relationship with him. I'm sorry if that's a bad decision. I just did. I also just wanted to buy time because I really didn't know how to handle it," she said. Describing Weinstein as "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,' Mann said, "Sometimes he validated me so much... but the word 'No' was like a trigger to him. This other personality, I called it 'The Monster side', would come out.' Mann alleged that even before this encounter, Weinstein previously forced himself on her, performing unwanted oral sex on her during their first private meeting in Los Angeles. She said she did not speak out about the alleged abuse because of how powerful Weinstein was, having connections even with former US President Bill Clinton. "I remember imagining if I ever said anything, he would call his friend and the Secret Service would come get me," she said, according to the New York Post. If convicted on the most serious rape charge according to Mann's account, Weinstein faces up to 25 years behind bars. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
NDTV
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Ex-Actress Claims Harvey Weinstein Took Erectile Shot, Then Raped Her In Hotel
On the witness stand again after five years, former actress Jessica Mann cried as she told a New York jury how disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped her in a 2013 Midtown hotel room. Ms Mann, now 38, sobbed as she recounted the alleged assault at the DoubleTree Hotel in Midtown on March 18, 2013. She described how Weinstein trapped her in the room, injected himself with a substance she later learned was used to treat erectile dysfunction, and then forced penetrative sex on her. "This is about the moment where I just gave up," she said, recalling how Harvey Weinstein allegedly blocked the door and asked her to undress, as per The Hollywood Reporter. After the encounter, Ms Mann said she found a needle in the trash labelled with a word resembling "necro-something." "I found on Google that it basically meant 'dead penis,'" she told the jury, explaining how the medication could only be used a limited number of times. "I was freaked out. Did I get exposed to something? It was scary." Despite the traumatic incident, Ms Mann testified that she continued a complex relationship with Harvey Weinstein afterwards. "I just decided to have a relationship with him. I'm sorry if that's a bad decision. I just did. I also just wanted to buy time because I really didn't know how to handle it," she said, crying on the stand. She described Harvey Weinstein as "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", referring to the 19th-century gothic horror novella about an outwardly respectable man who commits shocking crimes. "Sometimes he validated me so much... but the word 'No' was like a trigger to him. This other personality, I called it 'The Monster side', would come out," she said. Before the 2013 hotel room rape incident, Ms Mann said Weinstein previously performed unwanted oral sex on her during their first private meeting in Los Angeles. She told the jury that he invited her and a friend to his hotel room on the pretext of giving them a script for Vampire Academy. Once alone with her in the bedroom, Ms Mann said Harvey Weinstein forced himself on her despite her resistance, describing the encounter as a "battle." Though shaken, Ms Mann testified that she decided to enter a relationship with him afterwards, hoping it would make sense of the traumatic experience. "I just thought it would take the pain away," she said in court. Ms Mann said she feared speaking out at the time due to his influence and his powerful connections, including with former US President Bill Clinton. "I remember imagining if I ever said anything, he would call his friend and the Secret Service would come get me," she said, as per The NY Post. Ms Mann added she never accepted money from Harvey Weinstein. "It just felt like you're trying to pay me like a dirty prostitute. I never wanted his dirty money. I wasn't for sale." The retrial comes after Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction, where he was found guilty of third-degree rape against Ms Mann - was overturned. He now faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the most serious rape charge related to Ms Mann's account. Jessica Mann is the third and final accuser to testify in the retrial. Earlier, former teen model Kaja Sokola and former production assistant Miriam "Mimi" Haley also took the stand, alleging similar assaults by Harvey Weinstein. Prosecutors are presenting each of these women's testimonies not only for the specific charges but to show a pattern of predatory behaviour. The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
