A woman who says Harvey Weinstein violently raped her twice in 2013 testified in the movie mogul’s rape trial in Manhattan on Tuesday, declaring at the stand, “I want the jury to know that he is my rapist.”
The Associated Press reports that the witness, whose name has not been released to the public, also testified on Monday, but the court session had to end “when she sobbed while reading an email passage about being abused earlier in her life.” On Tuesday, the witness fielded cross-examination from Weinstein’s attorney, Donna Rotunno, who attempted to sully her testimony by suggesting she and Weinstein had a history of having consensual sex. Rotunno also provided evidence showing Weinstein frequently invited the witness to events and she accepted.
The witness has accused Weinstein of raping her in a Manhattan hotel in 2013, and then several months later at a Beverly Hills hotel. She has previously said she did have consensual sexual encounters with Weinstein despite not wanting to, and that she continued to communicate with Weinstein to protect her career.
“I know the history of my relationship with him,” the woman told Rotunno. “I know it was complicated and difficult. But that doesn’t change the fact that he raped me.”
She turned to the jury and added, “I do want [you] to know that he is my rapist and I can continue to explain,” according to the Guardian.
The Guardian says another witness, actor Emanuela Postacchini, testified ahead of the unnamed witness to corroborate some of her story:
The main witness said Weinstein invited her to a hotel room in New York where, after a short period, Postacchini was brought in too. Weinstein asked them both to undress and began telling them what to do.
The witness described how, upon seeing how uncomfortable Postacchini seemed, she ran into the bathroom and began to “crying and crying and I was completely overwhelmed by it”. She said Postacchini ran after her to console her.
Postachinni said she could not recall any details about what Weinstein asked them to do, but said she remembered the witness “was in a fetal position on the ground, crying” and recalled trying to console her. She said she did not remember what happened after that.
Postachinni later said that the situation was not “forced,” but she did feel “manipulated.”
Page Six reports that jurors were also shown naked photos of Weinstein; several witnesses have described his genitals as part of the trial. Per Page Six:
One female Manhattan Supreme Court juror made a slight face when she saw the snaps, while another woman on the panel raised her eyebrows and a male juror opened his eyes widely.
Weinstein faces multiple sexual assault and rape charges. The trial is ongoing.