One in every of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers broke down in tears and cursed on the witness stand Friday as a protection lawyer questioned her account of the previous Hollywood mogul forcing oral intercourse on her practically twenty years in the past.
“He was the one who raped me, not the other way around,” Miriam Haley advised jurors.
“That is for the jury to decide,” Weinstein lawyer Jennifer Bonjean responded.
“No, it’s not for the jury to decide. It’s my experience. And he did that to me,” Haley mentioned, utilizing expletives as tears started streaming down her face.
Decide Curtis Farber promptly halted questioning and despatched jurors out of the courtroom for a brief break. Haley, her eyes crimson and face glistening, didn’t take a look at Weinstein as she left the witness stand and exited by a aspect door.
Haley, 48, was testifying for a fourth day at Weinstein’s rape trial. Questioning resumed after the break, with Haley composed however occasional sparkles of frustration in her voice.
By midafternoon, the decide grew impatient with contentious cross-talk and extraneous feedback from Haley and the lawyer. Farber pounded his fist on the bench at one level and banged his gavel at one other, telling them: “Let’s behave, both of you.”
Farber later mentioned it was the primary time in 13 years that he’d used the gavel.
Weinstein is charged with sexually assaulting Haley and one other girl, Kaja Sokola, and raping a 3rd, Jessica Mann. Mann and Sokola are also anticipated to testify.
Weinstein denies the allegations and his attorneys argue that his accusers had consensual encounters with a then-powerful film producer who might advance their careers.
Haley, who has additionally passed by the identify Mimi Haleyi, is the primary accuser to testify on the retrial, which is going on after an appeals courtroom overturned Weinstein’s conviction at an earlier trial. Haley’s testimony at that 2020 trial took simply sooner or later.
Haley alleges that Weinstein assaulted her after inviting her to his condo to, as she put it, “just stop by and say hi.” She had labored briefly as a manufacturing assistant on the Weinstein-produced TV present “Project Runway,” and his firm had booked her a flight to Los Angeles the following day to attend a film premiere.
She testified earlier within the week that Weinstein backed her right into a bed room and pushed her onto a mattress, holding her down as she tried to rise up and pleaded: “No, no — it’s not going to happen.”
Haley and two of her pals testified that she advised them quickly after that Weinstein had sexually assaulted her. She maintains she was by no means eager about any sexual or romantic relationship with Weinstein, regardless of his previous overtures, however needed his assist getting jobs in present enterprise.
Zeroing in on the alleged assault, Bonjean on Friday questioned why Haley would comply with go to Weinstein’s condo after what the witness described as his earlier “bizarre” and “overwhelming” conduct, together with barging into her residence weeks earlier as he sought to influence her to go to Paris with him.
Haley mentioned she didn’t have a purpose to show down Weinstein’s request to cease by his condo, thought it will be rude to refuse, and did not concern for her security, even after his earlier conduct.
Haley grew emotional as Bonjean requested simply how Haley’s garments got here off earlier than Weinstein allegedly yanked out a tampon and carried out oral intercourse on her. Haley mentioned Weinstein took off her clothes, however she did not recall the small print: “I was, you know, busy struggling,” she defined.
“You removed your clothes, right?” Bonjean quickly requested, resulting in the fractious and tearful alternate.
Later, Bonjean continued to press her about specifics she did and didn’t recall from the alleged July 2006 assault and about its aftermath, together with a time a few weeks later when Haley has mentioned she had intercourse with Weinstein that she didn’t need however didn’t combat.
“You didn’t say, ‘Like, hey, what you did to me the other night wasn’t cool?’” Bonjean requested.
“No,” mentioned Haley, reiterating that she “went numb” in the course of the resort encounter.
Haley stayed in continued, sporadic contact with Weinstein for about three years afterward, in line with testimony and paperwork. At occasions, she requested him for work, premiere tickets and monetary backing for a web based TV present she was attempting to launch.
Bonjean queried her about these interactions, about her frequent travels and well-known acquaintances on the time, and about her Weinstein-company-paid aircraft ticket to Los Angeles the day after the alleged assault. Haley took the flight however skipped the premiere and did not see Weinstein on her journey.
The Related Press typically doesn’t identify individuals who allege they’ve been sexually assaulted except they offer permission to be recognized. Haley, Mann and Sokola have performed so.
