Accuser says Weinstein yelled ‘You owe me!’ before assault

NEW YORK — A key accuser in Harvey Weinstein’s trial testified Friday that he raped her twice, once bellowing “You owe me!” as he dragged her into a bedroom.

The first time, the heavyset Hollywood tycoon trapped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013, angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, and then raped her, she told jurors.

Still, she kept in touch, sending him flattering emails, because it “made me feel safe, worshipping him in this sense. I wanted to be perceived as innocent and naive.”

The 34-year-old woman’s testimony, which is set to continue Monday, is a pivotal moment in the rape case against the once-powerful movie producer who became one of the #MeToo movement’s top targets. He is charged in New York with the March 2013 rape and also sexually assaulting Mimi Haleyi, a former “Project Runway” production assistant, in 2006. A conviction could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

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 Weinstein.

Not once, in more than 400 messages between the two, did the woman accuse Weinstein of harming her, his lawyers have said.

Asked why she didn’t break off contact with Weinstein at the first sign of trouble, the woman testified she didn’t want to offend him. But defense lawyer Donna Rotunno asked whether it was really because the woman “wanted to benefit from the power he had.”