Jessica Mann, one of the women who has accused Harvey Weinstein of rape, testified in court on Friday that the two of them had a secret, abusive relationship for years.
Mann, a former actress who now works as a hairstylist, elicited audible gasps in the downtown Manhattan courtroom on multiple occasions while describing sexual encounters with Weinstein and offering jaw-dropping descriptions of the defendant’s body.
In an emotional testimony, Mann alleged that Weinstein raped her in a New York City hotel room in 2013. She said he blocked her from leaving the room, demanded she undress, and then forced himself on her.
Mann described rushing to the bathroom, where she saw a needle in the garbage can. After Googling the name on the syringe later, she said she learned the medication was meant to treat erectile dysfunction.
Weinstein has been charged with sexually assaulting the actress Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Mann in 2013. He is pleading not guilty.
‘It was like Jekyll and Hyde’
Mann said the pair first met at a party in Los Angeles, and he pursued a sexual relationship with her shortly afterward.
Despite what she described as a lack of attraction to him, Mann said she continued to see him — and had consensual oral sex with him — for reasons she struggled to articulate.
Mann said she did not have sexual or romantic feelings towards Weinstein, but had “confusing emotions” that frequently fluctuated.
“His approval meant so much to me,” she said.
Harvey Weinstein arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court on January 23, 2020, for the second day in his rape and sexual assault trial.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
At other points, she described fearing his temper.
“It was like Jekyll and Hyde,” she said. “He would be the most charming, informative person — he could lift you up. And behind closed doors, it would be dependent upon if I gave him what he wanted.”
Victims of domestic abuse, studies say, do not leave their abusers for a number of reasons. In many cases, the abuser seeks to exert power over their victim. Mann testified that when she expressed interest in starting a relationship with an actor, Weinstein said she wasn’t permitted to date anyone else “in the industry.”
Mann’s graphic descriptions of Weinstein’s body shocked the courtroom
In one particularly jarring description of Weinstein’s genitalia, Mann told the court the first time she saw Weinstein naked, she thought he was “deformed.”
“He does not have testicles and it appears that he had a vagina,” Mann said, acknowledging later that Weinstein did have a penis.
It doesn’t appear that any of the other 100 women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct described his genitalia.
When the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi, asked Mann to describe Weinstein’s hygiene, Mann described it as poor.
Jessica Mann arrives at Manhattan criminal court on Friday.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
“He smelled like s— — excuse me, sorry. Like poop. And he just was dirty,” she said.
Throughout Mann’s testimony, Weinstein’s defense team objected multiple times.
Mann is one of six women to testify against Weinstein during the trial, but only the second whose allegations resulted in criminal charges.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and said all the encounters with the women were consensual. His spokesperson didn’t immediately offer comment when Insider asked about Mann’s testimony Friday afternoon.
Mann’s testimony was set to continue through Friday afternoon, when Weinstein’s defense attorneys were expected to conduct a cross-examination.
Jacob Shamsian contributed reporting.
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