Weinstein raped her, trial witness testifies

NEW YORK — Jessica Mann met film producer Harvey Weinstein at a party after she had moved to Los Angeles from a dairy farm in Washington state to pursue acting. The Hollywood mogul, she said, seemed to take an immediate interest in her career.

Mann, who came from a religious family, at first considered Weinstein’s attentions a “blessing” from God. But soon, she testified at Weinstein’s trial Friday, he began pressuring her for sex.

It started with a request for a massage. Then, she said, he forced oral sex on her during a meeting about a movie role.

Weeks later, Mann said the producer raped her in a Midtown Manhattan hotel. She said he physically blocked her from leaving the room and forced her to undress.

“I was very angry inside and very scared,” she said. “I gave up at that point.”

For several hours, Mann, 34, described to a jury in graphic detail her “extremely degrading” relationship with Weinstein.

Weinstein, who is known for Oscar-winning films like Shakespeare in Love, had manipulated her from the start, she said, dangling the possibility of work, then coercing her into a sexual relationship.

Mann said she had agreed to a few sexual encounters with Weinstein before the attack, though she never had intercourse with him.

Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that Mann had a romantic relationship with the producer that lasted for years after the alleged assault and benefited her professionally. They have pointed to dozens of friendly emails Mann sent to Weinstein expressing affection and love for him.

On cross-examination, Weinstein’s lawyer, Donna Rotunno, suggested that Mann had not been raped but had consented to the sex to advance her career.

“You had a choice to walk right out of that hotel room and never see Harvey Weinstein again, isn’t that right?” Rotunno asked.

“That could have been death to any attempt of a career,” Mann replied.

Mann is the fifth accuser to take the witness stand against Weinstein in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan. He has pleaded innocent to five felony counts, including rape, criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The trial was seen by many as an important moment in the #MeToo movement.