7 New Big Lines From the Weinstein Trial

Accuser Jessica Mann takes the stand again
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2020 7:17 PM CST
7 New Big Lines From the Weinstein Trial
Harvey Weinstein emerges from the elevator as he arrives at court for his rape trial, in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Jessica Mann took the stand again Tuesday in Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial, a day after she said she was having a panic attack during cross-examination, prompting the judge to end proceedings early for the day. Mann first testified last week, during which her revelation that she thought the movie mogul was "deformed and intersex" made headlines. During her first day of cross-examination Monday, Weinstein's defense team accused her of manipulating the producer. Five big lines from Tuesday's testimony from the AP, USA Today, NBC News, and CNN:

  • Mann says Weinstein raped her twice in 2013, but she continued a relationship with him for years afterward, including some consensual encounters. The defense team focused on what the AP calls an "exhaustive review" of friendly, sometimes even flirtatious communications she had sent him. Asked how many times they had consensual sex, Mann responded, "I only remember intercourse the times that he raped me."
  • After defense attorney Donna Rotunno asked Mann multiple times to acknowledge she had manipulated Weinstein by making him think she was interested in him when she was actually just trying to further her acting career, Mann said, "That's your version." But she did acknowledge she said certain things and acted in certain ways in order to protect herself and her career: "I guess you can say manipulation." She also noted, when asked if she had used Weinstein, "Knowing him can open doors, and people want to get to him through you, so yes." She added: "I’m not looking for an excuse. ... I own my behavior."

  • "I know the history of my relationship with him. I know it was complicated and difficult. But that doesn’t change the fact that he raped me," Mann said. At another point, after Rotunno asked Mann why she would accept favors from "your rapist," Mann turned to the jury and said, "I want the jury to know that he is my rapist."
  • She said that during one encounter with Weinstein, she "freaked out" as he tried to film them on his cellphone.
  • While being questioned about several of her encounters with Weinstein in 2016, Mann noted, "At this point he was being really actually truly nice to me." But, she said, the last sexual encounter she had with him was in November of that year, around the time his mother died. She said an employee of Weinstein's told her the producer wanted to meet with her since she had lost her father and knew what he was going through. But she arrived to find Weinstein "he's naked on a bed and all he wants to do is something sexual."
  • She closed her testimony by discussing her mental health, including self-harm and thoughts of suicide. Asked by Rotunno if she's had anger issues, she responded, "Yes, I'm angry. Are you my psychiatrist?"
  • A supporting witness, actress Emanuela Postacchini, also testified that Weinstein pushed her to have a threesome with him and Mann in 2013 and that "the situation was forced." She says she wasn't personally forced, but that she didn't want to have sex with Weinstein and only gave in because she felt pressured. She said she found Mann "crying in the fetal position on the ground" in a bathroom at one point.
Mann is one of two women Weinstein is charged with sexually assaulting; the other, Mimi Haleyi, testified last week. Three other accusers have also testified despite no charges being filed relating to them; see their testimony here and here. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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