Latest news with #accusers
The Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Harvey Weinstein's defense case begins in sex crimes retrial. Will he be a witness?
After five weeks of testimony from Harvey Weinstein 's accusers and other prosecution witnesses at his sex crimes retrial, his defense has started presenting its own witnesses. But it's unclear whether the ex-studio boss himself will be one of them. He's due to decide by end of court Thursday whether to testify. If he does, it would be a remarkable twist — and potentially risky legal move — in the yearslong saga of the onetime Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast. Weinstein, 73, is being retried on rape and sexual assault charges because New York 's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction. He denies the allegations, and his attorneys maintain that anything that happened between him and his accusers was consensual. Weinstein didn't testify at his original trial. Many defendants in criminal cases don't. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that they don't have to. Jurors are told that they can't hold such silence against defendants and that it's up to prosecutors to prove their case; defendants do not need to prove anything. If defendants do take the stand, they open themselves to pointed questioning from prosecutors. Weinstein's lawyers began calling witnesses late Wednesday, starting with a physician-pharmacist discussing a medication that had come up in testimony. In the weeks prior, the defense asked plenty of questions aimed at raising doubts about the credibility and accuracy of what jurors were hearing from prosecution witnesses, particularly Weinstein's three accusers in the case. Two of the women allege that he forcibly performed oral sex on them, separately, in 2006. The third says he raped her in 2013. All three were trying to build careers in show business and say he preyed on them by dangling work prospects.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Harvey Weinstein's defense case begins in sex crimes retrial. Will he be a witness?
NEW YORK (AP) — After five weeks of testimony from Harvey Weinstein 's accusers and other prosecution witnesses at his sex crimes retrial, his defense has started presenting its own witnesses. But it's unclear whether the ex-studio boss himself will be one of them. He's due to decide by end of court Thursday whether to testify. If he does, it would be a remarkable twist — and potentially risky legal move — in the yearslong saga of the onetime Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast. Weinstein, 73, is being retried on rape and sexual assault charges because New York's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction. He denies the allegations, and his attorneys maintain that anything that happened between him and his accusers was consensual. Weinstein didn't testify at his original trial. Many defendants in criminal cases don't. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that they don't have to. Jurors are told that they can't hold such silence against defendants and that it's up to prosecutors to prove their case; defendants do not need to prove anything. If defendants do take the stand, they open themselves to pointed questioning from prosecutors. Weinstein's lawyers began calling witnesses late Wednesday, starting with a physician-pharmacist discussing a medication that had come up in testimony. In the weeks prior, the defense asked plenty of questions aimed at raising doubts about the credibility and accuracy of what jurors were hearing from prosecution witnesses, particularly Weinstein's three accusers in the case. Two of the women allege that he forcibly performed oral sex on them, separately, in 2006. The third says he raped her in 2013. All three were trying to build careers in show business and say he preyed on them by dangling work prospects.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Woman accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape describes their complex history
NEW YORK — Jurors at Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial began hearing Monday from a woman who has said her consensual relationship with the ex-movie mogul descended into rape. Jessica Mann is the last of three accusers to testify in the case, and the one with arguably the most complicated history with Weinstein. The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and maintains he never sexually assaulted or raped anyone.
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Woman accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape describes their complex history
Jurors at Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial began hearing Monday from a woman who has said her consensual relationship with the ex-movie mogul descended into rape. Jessica Mann is the last of three accusers to testify in the case, and the one with arguably the most complicated history with Weinstein. The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and maintains he never sexually assaulted or raped anyone. Mann, a cosmetologist and hairstylist, said she met Weinstein at a party in late 2012 or early 2013, when she was in her 20s and had recently moved to Los Angeles to try to launch an acting career. She said he took an interest in her ambitions, and they had a few follow-up meetings that alternated between professional talk and boundary-pushing, particularly a request for a massage that Mann said she reluctantly gave the ex-studio boss. Weinstein invited her to awards-season parties including an Oscars bash that was such a new experience for a woman from a small town in Washington state that she attended in her high-school prom dress. She said she wasn't attracted to Weinstein and initially refused his first sexual advance. It happened after he asked her up to a Beverly Hills hotel room under the pretext of getting a movie script in 2013, she said. Mann said she ultimately succumbed to Weinstein performing oral sex on that occasion and pretended to enjoy it because Weinstein said he wouldn't let her leave until she let him 'do something." Although she felt confused and 'defiled,' she then agreed to consensual encounters with him, she said. Mann said she worried about the professional consequences of alienating a powerful producer who had just dangled the prospect of movie roles for her and her roommate. She also recalled thinking that 'if I was in a relationship, maybe it would feel different.' 'I just thought that maybe it would take the pain away,' Mann, 39, testified through tears as Weinstein watched from his seat at the defense table, with his right hand resting across his mouth. Mann hasn't yet described the alleged rape in New York in 2013. Her testimony was due to continue Monday afternoon. Weinstein's lawyers haven't yet had their turn to question her. During opening statements last month, defense attorney Arthur Aidala contended that Mann had a 'a mutually beneficial relationship' with the former movie producer in hopes of 'cutting the line' to an acting career. 'She manipulates the whole situation,' Aidala said at the time. Once one of Hollywood's most influential producers, Weinstein became a symbol of sexual misconduct after media reports revealed allegations against him in 2017. The disclosures fueled the #MeToo movement's calls for accountability. During the past five years, he was convicted of various sex crimes in both New York and California. But he's on trial again because an appeals court found that his New York trial was tainted by prejudicial testimony and overturned that conviction. He's charged with raping Mann and with forcing oral sex on two other women, separately, in 2006. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who alleged they have been sexually assaulted unless they agree to be identified. Mann has done so.
Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Woman accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape describes their complex history
NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors at Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial began hearing Monday from a woman who has said her consensual relationship with the ex-movie mogul descended into rape. Jessica Mann is the last of three accusers to testify in the case, and the one with arguably the most complicated history with Weinstein. The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and maintains he never sexually assaulted or raped anyone. Mann, a cosmetologist and hairstylist, said she met Weinstein at a party in late 2012 or early 2013, when she was in her 20s and had recently moved to Los Angeles to try to launch an acting career. She said he took an interest in her ambitions, and they had a few follow-up meetings that alternated between professional talk and boundary-pushing, particularly a request for a massage that Mann said she reluctantly gave the ex-studio boss. Weinstein invited her to awards-season parties including an Oscars bash that was such a new experience for a woman from a small town in Washington state that she attended in her high-school prom dress. She said she wasn't attracted to Weinstein and initially refused his first sexual advance. It happened after he asked her up to a Beverly Hills hotel room under the pretext of getting a movie script in 2013, she said. Mann said she ultimately succumbed to Weinstein performing oral sex on that occasion and pretended to enjoy it because Weinstein said he wouldn't let her leave until she let him 'do something.' Although she felt confused and 'defiled,' she then agreed to consensual encounters with him, she said. Mann said she worried about the professional consequences of alienating a powerful producer who had just dangled the prospect of movie roles for her and her roommate. She also recalled thinking that 'if I was in a relationship, maybe it would feel different.' 'I just thought that maybe it would take the pain away,' Mann, 39, testified through tears as Weinstein watched from his seat at the defense table, with his right hand resting across his mouth. Mann hasn't yet described the alleged rape in New York in 2013. Her testimony was due to continue Monday afternoon. Weinstein's lawyers haven't yet had their turn to question her. During opening statements last month, defense attorney Arthur Aidala contended that Mann had a 'a mutually beneficial relationship' with the former movie producer in hopes of 'cutting the line' to an acting career. 'She manipulates the whole situation,' Aidala said at the time. Once one of Hollywood's most influential producers, Weinstein became a symbol of sexual misconduct after media reports revealed allegations against him in 2017. The disclosures fueled the #MeToo movement's calls for accountability. During the past five years, he was convicted of various sex crimes in both New York and California. But he's on trial again because an appeals court found that his New York trial was tainted by prejudicial testimony and overturned that conviction. He's charged with raping Mann and with forcing oral sex on two other women, separately, in 2006. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who alleged they have been sexually assaulted unless they agree to be identified. Mann has done so.
