Weinstein accused of trying to force model, 16, into sex
NEWYORK— Harvey Weinstein was accused in a civil court filing Wednesday of forcing a 16-year-old Polish model to touch his penis, subjecting her to years of harassment and emotional abuse and blocking her from a successful acting career as payback for refusing his advances.
The accuser, identified as Jane Doe, alleges that Weinstein assaulted her at his New York City apartment in 2002, days after they’d met at an event.
Doe alleges the movie mogul promised to take her to lunch to discuss her career, but instead took her to his empty Soho apartment and “aggressively and threateningly” demanded sex.
Weinstein instructed Doe to take off her clothes and intimated that she’d never work as an actress unless she gave in to his demands, according to the filing, the latest revelation in a lawsuit alleging Weinstein’s movie studio board enabled his behavior.
“Terrified and struggling to hold back tears, Jane Doe said she would not and resisted his demands,” the filing states.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, called the allegations “preposterous.” Weinstein denies all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
“Eventually, just as others have been exposed to be liars, this uncorroborated allegation that is almost 20 years old will be shown to be patently false,” Brafman said.
A lawyer representing the movie studio, The Weinstein Co., declined to comment.
Dozens of women have accused Weinstein of wrongdoing. Articles published a year ago in The New York Times and The New Yorker detailing his alleged behavior helped spark the #Metoo movement.