Jessica Mann, a woman who accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 2013, began testifying for the third time on Monday, recounting the alleged assault and her subsequent relationship with the former movie mogul. Mann had previously testified in Weinstein's 2020 trial, which resulted in a conviction seen as a victory for the #MeToo movement. However, due to legal reversals, including the overturning of that conviction and a mistrial on her charge last year, she is now facing another round of questioning.
Mann's Account of the Alleged Rape
Mann testified that she met Weinstein at an acquaintance's engagement party in early 2013. She described him as wearing a tuxedo and looking "very jolly," prompting her to introduce herself. At the time, Mann was living in Los Angeles and pursuing an acting career. Later that evening, she encountered Weinstein again, and he boasted about his filmmaking abilities and talent-spotting skills. He told her she was "really pretty, prettier than Natalie Portman," according to her testimony. Mann gave him her phone number, believing she had made a professional connection rather than a romantic one.
"He was interested in my look. I thought I just got discovered," she said.
Weinstein's Response and Courtroom Dynamics
Weinstein denies all allegations of sexual assault. He watched from his wheelchair at the defence table, occasionally conferring with his lawyer. Mann only looked at him when asked to identify him in court.
Mann's allegation of a 2013 rape in a Manhattan hotel is being retried due to a series of legal developments. Weinstein's 2020 conviction was overturned on grounds unrelated to her testimony, and a subsequent retrial involving multiple accusers ended with a jury deadlocked on her charge, leaving it to be tried again.
Mann's Determination and Background
Mann has expressed her willingness to testify multiple times. "I am ready, willing and able to endure this as many times as it takes for justice and accountability to be served," she said in a statement. Now 40, Mann grew up in a small town in Washington state and trained as a hairstylist before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. She sometimes lived in her car but had done some commercial and film work before meeting Weinstein.
Prosecutors and Weinstein's defence will likely question Mann for days. The defence has portrayed her as a canny aspiring actress who engaged in consensual sex with Weinstein and only turned on him after news reports about other women's allegations emerged in 2017, which catalyzed the #MeToo movement.
The Relationship and Aftermath
Mann testified that after meeting Weinstein, she accepted invitations, including a shopping trip for cinema books. She said he began making sexual overtures that she did not invite but accepted. She described a complicated relationship with the then-married mogul, sometimes appreciating his encouragement and other times resenting his sexual demands. In March 2013, Mann and a friend travelled to New York, where she arranged to meet Weinstein for breakfast. She testified that he isolated her in a hotel room, blocked her exit, and raped her despite her saying "I don't want to do this" and "no."
After the alleged rape, Mann continued seeing Weinstein, describing most subsequent encounters as consensual. Over the next four years, she sent him emails saying "miss you," "there is no one else I would enjoy catching up with that understands me quite like you," and "I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call." Weinstein's lawyers argue these messages indicate a caring relationship, while Mann says she was managing a volatile dynamic.
