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Weinstein Rape Accuser Testifies About Relationship With 'Deformed' Mogul
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 31, 2020
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 31, 2020
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Jessica Mann, one of two women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault as part of his ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan, testified today that Weinstein engaged in forced oral sex and raped her in 2013. During the testimony, she described Weinstein's genitalia in detail, and claimed he appears "intersex."
“The first time I saw him fully naked, I thought he was deformed and intersex. He has an extreme scarring that I didn’t know, maybe [he] was a burn victim…” she said, according to The Cut. “He does not have testicles, and it appears that he has a vagina...He also peed on me once." The Cut noted that as Mann described Weinstein's "deformed genitals," Weinstein dropped his head. The prosecutor also asked her to describe his hygiene: “It was very bad,” she said. “He smelled like shit – excuse me, sorry, like poop. He just was dirty.”
Mann, 34, was an aspiring actress when she first met Weinstein at a party in early 2013. She had been raised on a farm by evangelical parents in Washington, and testified Friday that "with my religious background and everything, I thought God was blessing me by having met him…I thought it was a blessing."
She said that the relationship soon turned into a living nightmare. After their first meetup, during which Weinstein allegedly bought her books so she could "understand film history," Mann and a friend met Weinstein at a hotel bar. Weinstein allegedly claimed he was annoyed by people coming up to him, and asked the restaurant to bring their orders to his hotel suite, but Mann noted “he was not interested in finishing our food.”
Mann testified that Weinstein went into the suite’s bedroom and asked for her to join him, at which point he undressed, made her give him a massage, and assaulted her.
"He was pushing me back and I was able to turn my body to go, and he still had me by one arm, and that’s when he really tightened his grip," she testified, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "And the more I fought, the angrier he got. This anger scared me, so I tried to joke and calm him down and he said, ‘I’m not letting you leave until you let me do something for you.' He started manipulating me, like, ‘You accepted my invitation to my party,’ a lot of like stuff like that, and then, 'You’re not leaving until I do something for you.'"
That encounter left her feeling "horrified and confused" and most of all, trapped, if she wanted to continue her career, Mann recalled. "I made the decision to be in a relationship with him,” she testified. "And part of that was because I was sexual with very few people. I entered into what I thought was going to be a real relationship with him – and it was extremely degrading from that point on." Another reason she was worried to break it off with him: she was afraid he would hurt her father. "I had a fight with my dad once and he saw that I was upset… he said he’ll send two men there with bats," she testified. "And he said he had a problem with one actress’s stalker that he did that to..."
She went on to testify that Weinstein assaulted her on other occasions during that year, including in November 2013 when Mann says Weinstein raped her after she told him that she had a boyfriend, and he allegedly said that she “owed him one more time” sexually.
Weinstein's defense team said that there are more than 400 messages between the two, which Mann confirmed, testifying that she maintained a relationship with Weinstein for years after these incidents. Asked why she continued to have a relationship with him, Mann said "there’s a lot of layers to that question," and noted that she felt sorry for him at different times.
Weinstein, 67, has been charged with five counts of rape, criminal sexual act, and predatory sexual assault, stemming from accusations by Mann and Miriam Haley (formerly Haleyi), who testified in court Monday that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. She also said that he called her a "bitch" and a "whore" while he raped her. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty, and claimed that any sexual activity was consensual.
Two other accusers, Dawn Dunning and Tarale Wulff, also testified this week; both claimed that Weinstein sexually assaulted them in the mid-2000s, although neither can press charges due to the statute of limitations. Their testimony, along with that of actress Annabella Sciorra and Lauren Young (who is expected to testify next week), are being offered as "prior bad acts" witnesses to help prosecutors prove Weinstein had an alleged pattern as a serial predator.
Tagged
sexual assault
metoo
sexual harassment
harvey weinstein
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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