Testimony Against Harvey Weinstein

A former actress, who previously accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her in a New York City hotel, expressed her anguish while testifying on the witness stand. Jessica Mann, 38, returned to the Manhattan Supreme Court, recounting harrowing events from a decade ago and the unsettling items she later discovered in the trash.

This was her second appearance at Weinstein’s retrial after five years, where she gave a vivid recount of the alleged sexual assault that occurred at a Doubletree Hotel in Midtown on March 18, 2013.

While detailing the attack, Mann broke down. She mentioned finding a needle used for an erection-inducing drug in a garbage can, which she associated with Weinstein. “I found on Google that basically means ‘dead penis.’ You can only inject it for a set number of times in a row,” Mann explained to the judge, her voice shaky. “I was shocked. I started wondering, had I been exposed to something? It was terrifying.”

Interestingly, she later shared that she had continued a consensual relationship with Weinstein, attributing it to what she described as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” aspects of his personality. “He sometimes praised me, calling me beautiful, and that validation felt important,” she reflected. Yet, Mann also described moments when Weinstein’s darker side would surface. “There were times I felt used for sex. The word ‘no’ seemed to trigger this other personality—I called it ‘the monster side.’ It would emerge.”

In the courtroom, Weinstein, now 73, sat in a wheelchair, wearing a worn charcoal suit. He expressed doubts to Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo, mentioning he feared that no one would believe her claims.

Mann expressed concerns about Weinstein’s connections with influential figures, including former President Bill Clinton. “I often imagined what it would be like if he called his friend and the Secret Service showed up,” she revealed, her mind racing with scenarios.

Her testimony echoed her earlier experiences from 2020. The jury previously found Weinstein guilty of third-degree rape in the assault on Mann, although they did not classify it as first-degree rape. Last year, however, that conviction was overturned, leading to this retrial.

Additional testimonies were provided by former teenage model Kaja Sokora and ex-TV production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haley, both of whom alleged that Weinstein had raped them. Should he be convicted, Weinstein faces a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison.