New York (AFP) – Former US actress Jessica Mann told Harvey Weinstein’s retrial Monday how the disgraced movie mogul flooded her with praise in the weeks before allegedly raping her in 2013 in a New York hotel room. Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the MeToo movement, is already in prison for other sex offenses, so he will remain behind bars regardless of the verdict.
This is the third time that Mann has taken the stand against Weinstein after a 2020 guilty verdict was overturned due to mishandling of witnesses, and a 2025 case ended in mistrial after a jury-room feud. “I felt like he was a really nice person and he was offering to mentor me,” Mann, wearing a beige jacket over a white top, told a New York courthouse. She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker. “He told me that I was prettier than Natalie Portman,” she said.
She added that Weinstein’s apparent interest in boosting her career, including buying her books on acting, initially seemed like a “miracle.” The 40-year-old’s testimony — much of which echoed the 2020 and 2025 cases — was emotional, and she took occasional pauses as her voice broke. Mann’s testimony will continue Tuesday.
Weinstein, wearing a suit and seated in a wheelchair he is bound to due to ill health, occasionally shook his head as Mann spoke. Prosecutor Candace White told last week’s opening hearing how Weinstein “preyed upon a fragile and sheltered young woman.” The defense is seeking to dismiss Mann’s rape allegation by painting her relationship with Weinstein as consensual.
The Oscar-winning Weinstein, 74, is already serving a 16-year prison term in a California case for the rape of a European actress more than a decade ago. He is appealing that conviction. He is also appealing a conviction last June of sexual assault against movie producer Miriam Haley. Weinstein was known for his fiery temper, and the industry had long been rife with suggestions that he took advantage of his power to sexually exploit women.
In 2017, blockbuster investigations by the New Yorker and the New York Times laid bare a series of claims by young women that triggered an avalanche of allegations from more than 80 complainants and prompted the global MeToo movement.
© 2024 AFP
