Former Actress Testifies That Weinstein Told Her She ‘Owed Him’

Former Actress Testifies That Weinstein Told Her She ‘Owed Him’
Prosecutors say Harvey Weinstein dangled the possibility of work to Jessica Mann. Then later raped her, she said.

Jessica Mann had moved to Los Angeles from a dairy farm in Washington State to pursue acting when she met the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein at a party. Mr. Weinstein quickly took an interest in Ms. Mann, meeting with her several times to discuss her career.

Having come from a highly religious family, she thought at first his interest in her was a “blessing” from God. But soon, she testified at Mr. Weinstein’s trial on Friday, he began pressuring her for sex.

It started with a request for a massage. Then he forced oral sex on her during another meeting that she thought was to discuss a movie role. She faked an orgasm, she said, “to get out of it.”

Weeks later, Ms. Mann said the influential producer raped her in a Midtown Manhattan hotel after injecting his penis with erection medication. She said he physically blocked her from leaving the room and forced her to undress. “I was very angry inside and very scared,” she said. “I gave up at that point”

Ms. Mann, 34, who is now a hair stylist, described in graphic detail her often tortured and “extremely degrading” relationship with Mr. Weinstein.

Mr. Weinstein, who had become a titan in the independent movie industry with Oscar-winning films like “Shakespeare in Love,” had manipulated her from the start, she said, by dangling the possibility of work, but then coerced her into an ongoing sexual relationship.

Ms. Mann had had sexual encounters with him that were not forced before the alleged attack, she said, even though she maintained she was not physically attracted to him.

Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers have argued Ms. Mann had a consensual relationship with the producer that lasted for years after the alleged assault and benefited her professionally. They have pointed to dozens of friendly emails Ms. Mann sent to Mr. Weinstein expressing affection and love for him.

In legal terms, rape can — and often does — occur within consensual relationships, such as an abusive marriage. Some victims choose — or are forced by circumstances — to maintain outwardly friendly relationships with their attacker

Ms. Mann is the fifth accuser to take the witness stand against Mr. Weinstein in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He is charged with first and third-degree rape, and predatory sexual assault in connection with his one of his encounters with Ms. Mann in 2013.

A total of six women have agreed to testify that Mr. Weinstein assaulted them. The trial was one of the most highly anticipated proceedings in recent memory, seen by many as an important moment in the #MeToo movement, which was set in motion in October 2017, when, after years of whispers, several women went public with their allegations that Mr. Weinstein had sexually harassed or assaulted them.

In all, prosecutors have charged Mr. Weinstein, 67, with five felony counts, including two counts of predatory sexual assault, which requires prosecutors to show he committed a serious sexual crime against at least two people and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Ms. Mann said she met Mr. Weinstein at a party in either 2012 or 2013.

He took her to a bookstore on Sunset Boulevard where he bought her four books, telling her it was important to understand film history if she wanted to be an actress.

Over the next several weeks, they met again including a dinner at an Italian restaurant with his assistant where Mr. Weinstein said he wanted to “plug” Ms. Mann “into his system.”