Dayton Daily News

Weinstein jury to start deliberati­ons Tuesday

- By Michael R. Sisak and Tom Hays

Harvey Weinstein considered himself such a big shot in Hollywood that he thought he could get away with treating aspiring actresses like “complete disposable­s,” a prosecutor told a jury in closing arguments Friday at his New York City rape trial.

“The universe is run by me, and therefore, they don’t get to complain when they are stepped on, spit on, demoralize­d and, yes, raped and abused by me — the king,” Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said, mimicking Weinstein.

Using a TV monitor next to the jury box, the prosecutor­s displayed photos of “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra and five other accusers who also testified. Illuzzi told jurors that, putting aside the more successful Sciorra, who dined with Uma Thurman and dated Gary Oldman, the women were viewed by Weinstein as “complete disposable­s.”

“These other women, they were never in his world,” Illuzzi said. “They are never going to be in his world. They are never going to be strong enough, bold enough or brave enough to tell. But Annabella — someone might believe her.”

Illuzzi also showed a sideby-side comparison of Sciorra’s testimony about confrontin­g Weinstein in the mid-1990s — after she accuses him of raping her — and similar testimony by the woman he’s charged with raping in 2013 about how the mogul reacted when she told him she had a boyfriend.

“His eyes went black and I thought he was going to hit me right there,” Sciorra testified. With the click of a button, the rape accuser’s testimony popped up: “His eyes changed and he was not there. They were very black and he ripped me up.”

At times, Weinstein sat back in his chair staring ahead at a screen in front of the defense table that mirrored what was being shown to the seven men and five women on the jury.

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