Witness weeps; Weinstein jury breaks
NEW YORK — A key accuser in the New York City rape trial of Harvey Weinstein broke down in tears on the witness stand on Monday during an exhaustive cross-examination.
In response, the judge sent the jury home about an hour earlier than usual.
The 34-year-old woman broke down after the defense questioned the nature of her relationship with the once-powerful movie mogul, portraying her as an opportunistic manipulator who took advantage of Weinstein while pursuing an acting career, even after he allegedly raped her.
The woman had said she “tried to make him my pseudo father” after a rough upbringing.
“I wanted him to believe I wasn’t a threat,” the woman testified. She added, “I was afraid of his unpredictable anger.”
Defense lawyer Donna Rotunno sought to shoot down those explanations by zeroing in on the accuser’s admission that she also had noncoerced sexual encounters with Weinstein that she said only happened after “a long negotiation.” Even then, “I wasn’t happy to do it,” the woman said.
“You manipulated Mr. Weinstein every single time, isn’t that correct?” Rotunno asked.
She responded: “I felt there was an aspect to the way I felt I needed to protect myself that had an element of manipulation.”
At one point, Rotunno shot back: “You made a choice to have sexual encounters with Harvey Weinstein when you weren’t sexually attracted to him. … You liked the parties, and you liked the power.”
The witness, who is to return to the stand today, had also testified on Friday. Although the witness was identified in other reports last week, The Associated Press is withholding her name because it isn’t clear if she wishes to be identified publicly. The AP has a policy of not publishing without consent the names of people who say they are victims of sexual assault.
The witness was grilled on Monday about emails that continued after the encounters with Weinstein she described on Friday.
From the emails, it appeared the witness, who also worked as a hairdresser in a Beverly Hills hotel, was still cutting Weinstein’s hair in early 2014. In one January 2014 email, he wrote her: “That’s the best hair cut and trim I’ve gotten. I’ve gotten a million compliments.
Thank you.”
She wrote back: “Your the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!! But thank you that makes me so happy to hear :)”
Rotunno asked the witness whether she was trying to make Weinstein “believe that you cared about him.”
“I did want him to think that I was naive and safe and not a threat,” she responded.
“But you’re not naive, are you?” Rotunno asked.
“I’m observant, but I’m not that smart,” she replied.
The witness later read from a lengthy confessional email she sent to her then-boyfriend in May 2014 about her relationship with Weinstein.
“Harvey was my father’s age and he gave me all the validation I needed at that time,” she said as she choked up, adding, “I tried to make him a pseudo father.”
She began weeping uncontrollably after reading a passage attempting to explain that she had submitted to Weinstein’s sexual advances because she had been sexually assaulted when she was younger. She was still crying after an eight-minute break when the judge cut the day short.
Weinstein appeared to be sleeping at times during the emotional testimony, closing his eyes and drooping his head in his chair at the defense table. A juror also briefly dozed off, prompting a scolding from the judge.
Weinstein, 67, has insisted that any sexual encounters were consensual. His lawyers aim to raise doubts about the rape accuser’s credibility by seizing on her complicated history with the former film producer. A conviction on charges of a 2013 rape and a 2006 sexual assault could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.