‘YOU OWE ME SEX’
What ‘predatory monster’ Harvey Weinstein is alleged to have told one of the women he is accused of raping
HARVEY Weinstein is a predatory monster who used his power and prestige to manipulate young women into having sex, a jury heard last night.
The disgraced film producer, 67, had a vast ‘desire for conquest’ and treated his victims like pawns he could abuse for his sexual gratification, screaming at one that she ‘owed’ him sex, his trial was told.
Weinstein used his connections to politicians such as Bill and Hillary Clinton to intimidate and silence his victims for years, it is claimed.
New York Supreme Court prosecutors allege that one rape was so violent Weinstein left scratch marks on the victim’s thighs as he ripped off her jeans. Afterwards he allegedly told her: ‘I couldn’t resist you.’
Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast, prosecuting, told the jury: ‘The defendant was a savvy, powerful Hollywood producer living a lavish lifestyle most of us will never know. But the evidence will also show that that man was a sexual predator and a rapist.’ She added that he ‘sexually assaulted these women when they refused to comply with his desires and orders and then used his power and prestige in the entertainment industry to silence them’.
Miss Hast outlined the ordeal of six women who will give evidence. She described ‘tests’ that Weinstein subjected the women to, to see if they were pliable to his manipulation – if they ‘passed’, he would go further next time. She said: ‘ The defendant knew he was preying on the naive and inexperienced. They didn’t realise they were being lured in with false promises.’
Weinstein hobbled into court yesterday without the walking frame he has used recently. Referring to the former Hollywood mogul’s diminished appearance, Miss Hast said: ‘Despite what your eyes are seeing, this is not a harmless old man. Ultimately
‘He was preying on the naive’
this trial is about the defendant’s desire for conquest and for his lack of empathy and for that he must be held accountable.
‘Finally after all these years these women will have their voices heard.’
Of the women who will face Weinstein in court, three of them are accusers and three are ‘bad character’ witnesses. Actress Annabella Sciorra, 59, best known for The Sopranos, met Weinstein in the early 1990s when her career was on the rise.
He talked her into taking a role even though she said she was exhausted. She had ‘passed her first test – she could be bullied’, Miss Hast said.
Weinstein sent her Valium to help her sleep and she had to wean herself off the drug. During the winter of 1993/94 Weinstein offered Miss Sciorra a lift home after a dinner at a Manhattan restaurant.
After she changed into her nightgown she heard a knock at the door.
‘Before she had time to ask him why he was there, the defendant, this man... pushed past the 110lb Annabella. This man who is close to 300lb,’ Miss Hast said. ‘She told him to get out, she told him no, but Harvey Weinstein is undeterred.’ He allegedly pinned her to the bed and raped her.
‘[She] remembers at some point giving up the fight just hoping it would end,’ Miss Hast said. It took 25 years for her to ‘confront her nightmare’.
English-born production assistant Mimi Haleyi met Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival. He invited her to his hotel suite and asked for a massage. She declined but ‘passed the test’ because she did not walk away.
Weinstein got her a job in New York and began to ‘manipulate’ her into doing what he wanted, the court was told. In July 2006, Weinstein sent a car to bring her to his apartment. They sat at opposite ends of the couch until Weinstein ‘lunged’ at her.
Miss Haleyi ‘pushed him away and told him she wasn’t interested in sex but the defendant was undeterred’, Miss Hast said. ‘[She] started to realise that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She was going to get raped. This defendant was so manipulative and the dynamic was so skewed that, even after the violent assault, [she] was worried to offend him. The defendant was concerned, he knew he had to keep her silent.’
The second rape was at the Mercer Hotel in New York, it is alleged. Miss Haleyi felt ‘trapped with the monster of her nightmare’, Miss Hast said.
Aspiring actress Jessica Mann was the third victim, the court heard. She met Weinstein at an industry party. He sought her out even though he was ‘old enough to be her father, overweight and sloppy looking’, Miss Hast said. The next meeting was at a hotel where Weinstein asked if he could give her a massage. She refused but rubbed lotion on his back.
Miss Hast said: ‘Jessica Mann will tell you that she thought she could handle the situation. It will be clear throughout this trial, that the defendant knew he was preying on women without experience... these women were pawns to be pushed around.’
Weinstein is said to have raped Miss Mann in 2013 and attacked her again later that year. Miss Mann was working as a stylist and cut his hair and told him about her boyfriend.
He flew into a jealous rage and
‘These women were pawns’
‘dragged her to the bedroom while screaming that she owed him one more time’, Miss Hast said. He allegedly forced her to perform a sex act, then told her: ‘I want to apologise for what happened earlier, I just find you so attractive I couldn’t resist you.’
Weinstein denies first-degree rape, two counts of predatory sexual assault, one of first- degree sexual assault and one of third-degree rape.
Damon Charonis, one of his defence attorneys, said the theory outlined by the prosecution was simply not true.
‘Is it possible these women could have been attracted to Harvey Weinstein?’ he asked the jury. ‘This is not going to be this predator/prey dynamic that the state wants you to believe.’
The trial continues.