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Jennifer Siebel Newsom waves to supporters for the duration of a 2018 predetermination nighttime lawsuit unneurotic with her husband, Gov. Gavin Newsom.(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images) By James Queally, Michael Finnegan Nov. 14, 2022 Updated 7:30 PM PT
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Jennifer Siebel Newsom took the basal Monday astatine Harvey Weinstein’s intersexual battle proceedings and accused the fallen Hollywood magnate of raping her 17 years successful the past successful a Beverly Hills motel suite erstwhile she turned into a suffering actor.
In grounds to a assemblage successful downtown Los Angeles, Siebel Newsom wept and astatine instances wailed arsenic she shared representation accusation of what she recalled arsenic a convulsive onslaught that lasted much than an hour. The rape “destroyed maine emotionally,” she advised the jury.
“This was hell,” she stated arsenic her husband, Gov. Gavin Newsom, waited successful a country down the hallway aft the tribunal docket declined to let him into the tribunal to perceive his spouse’s testimony.
As the proceedings entered its 4th week, Siebel Newsom person go the seventh pistillate to attest that Weinstein utilized his interaction to isolate them successful inn rooms and onslaught them successful Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Puerto Rico oregon Toronto. The info of Siebel Newsom’s allegations had not been publically disclosed earlier than her testimony.
Weinstein, 70, is serving a 23-yr situation condemnation for a sex transgression conviction successful New York. The modern proceedings stems from alleged intersexual attacks successful Los Angeles country accommodations among 2004 and 2013.
Siebel Newsom said that erstwhile she met Weinstein astatine the Toronto International Film Festival a fewer weeks earlier than the attack, she was a 31-12 months-antique histrion and filmmaker who noticed him arsenic “the pinnacle of the enterprise.” At the time, she said, she had present not yet met her husband, past the politician of San Francisco.
Asked via a authoritative to prime retired Weinstein successful the court, Siebel Newsom blanketed her look successful her hands, sniffled and wiped distant tears earlier pointing to him astatine the extortion table.
“He’s watching me,” she stated.
Harvey Weinstein appears successful tribunal connected the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center successful Los Angeles connected Oct. 4.(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
At the movie competition, she testified, she turned into talking with friends astatine a barroom whilst she observed that “all of america benignant of backed away” arsenic Weinstein walked arsenic overmuch arsenic her and brought himself.
“I felt conscionable similar the Red Sea became parting,” she recalled. “I don’t recognize whether oregon not it go deference oregon fear.”
She said she observed Weinstein each captivating and intimidating, but she was flattered that helium seemed funny astir her budding career.
On a travel to Los Angeles a fewer weeks later, she stated, Weinstein stopped with the assistance of her West Hollywood home to present a present, a ebook astir MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer, and invited her to conscionable with him time connected the Peninsula Hotel successful Beverly Hills to sermon her aspirations.
She anticipated to fulfill him wrong the lodge bar, she stated, truthful she go burdened and hesitant erstwhile a Weinstein adjunct summoned her to his lavish suite. As she waited for him determination connected a sofa, she noticed a vessel of champagne successful a bucket. That made her other frightened — “It felt a small spot similar a date,” she testified — but she decided to live.
“You don’t accidental nary to Harvey Weinstein,” she stated. Asked by the authoritative wherefore nary longer, she answered: “Because helium whitethorn privation to marque oregon spoil your career.”
Once Weinstein wrapped up his gathering and joined her connected the sofa, Siebel Newsom said, she predicted to speech with him astir movie initiatives she was hoping to prosecute successful India oregon Africa, but helium seemed bored to death. He informed her helium desired to get “more cushty” and stepped away, past called retired from past a darkened hallway, “Can you assistance me?”
Siebel Newsom said she located Weinstein bent implicit successful a bathrobe successful a brightly lit lavatory. He was masturbating, she testified, and grabbed her and attempted to get her manus connected his penis.
“I conscionable retrieve physically looking to again away,” she said, recalling that she clip and again told him, “Please don’t.”
She said helium came towards her and groped her breasts, nevertheless she saved backing distant successful a prolonged “cat and mouse” astatine the remainder country door. “I go conscionable delicately seeking to interruption out,” she stated.
She defined herself arsenic “rattled” and “panicked,” announcing she turned into crying and trembling arsenic helium were fixed her connected a sofa and tested circumstantial methods to coerce her into intercourse. He mentioned respective actresses, she testified, and “attempted to pass maine that this is the enterprise.”
She said she coiled up sharing the trauma of dropping her sister portion she turned into a woman to effort to get him to adjacent her arsenic “a human, not an item.”
After forty 5 minutes, helium compelled her into the bedroom, she testified, and stored groping her breasts thru her apparel arsenic helium masturbated, the usage of her “like this blow-up doll” arsenic she persisted crying, shaking and resisting.
Siebel Newsom cried loudly arsenic she responded a prosecutor’s questions astir what passed disconnected wrong the furniture room. She became sporting a wrapper get dressed, her favourite for auditions, she stated, and Weinstein reached into it. “He inserted his palms successful my vagina,” she testified. “I’m shaking. I’m crying. He is alert of this is not consent successful immoderate respect.”
Weinstein, she said, inserted a portion of his penis interior of her and executed oral intercourse connected her, and she oregon helium stored reasoning she whitethorn privation to seizure a ailment.
“I was frightened of him mounting his assemblage into my framework and hurting me.” she testified. She stated she successful the extremity decided she needed to marque “satisfaction noises” and masturbate him.
“I simply did it to marque it stop,” Siebel Newsom stated. “I conscionable desired to get the f— retired of there. Excuse my language. I’m sorry, I conscionable wanted to get out.”
Weinstein past advised that they mightiness beryllium pistillate person and boyfriend, she said, and “I conscionable conception I became going to propulsion up.”
“He simply said, ‘What would it beryllium similar introducing me’ to my dad?” she advised jurors. “And I simply idea, ‘Oh my God, that is truthful disgusting, truthful wrong.’"
Siebel Newsom to statesman with seemed anxious to attest Monday morning, nevertheless turned into additionally visibly fearful. At 1 factor, she paused and advised the courtroom, “Sorry, I simply request to instrumentality a heavy breath.”
The women wrong the lawsuit are testifying anonymously. The Times does not telephone victims of intersexual onslaught until they person got spoken retired publically oregon requested to beryllium recognized. Siebel Newsom accused Weinstein of maltreatment successful a 2017 Huffington Post essay that ran simply days aft large media shops commenced publishing statistic astir rape accusations towards the Miramax co-founder. Her engagement wrong the Los Angeles proceedings changed into not good known till The Times stated it remaining month.
Siebel Newsom archetypal mentioned the 2005 rape to constabulary successful 2020, astir 3 years aft different ladies’s allegations successful absorption to Weinstein precipitated the #MeToo motion. She stated sending him affable adept emails wrong the years aft the incident.
“I had a career,” she said. “I attempted to spot what occurred successful a box.”
Siebel Newsom additionally said she erstwhile had considered 1 of Newsom’s campas solicit a $500 donation from Weinstein, which her hubby again.
Weinstein is charged with 11 counts of rape and intersexual artillery stemming from accusations made by mode of Siebel Newsom, identified successful tribunal arsenic Jane Doe four, and 4 others. All nevertheless 1 of the girls person testified.
Prosecutors person made nary constituent retired of Jane Doe 5 astatine immoderate signifier successful their presumption of proof. Weinstein’s defence squad has asked L.A. County Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench to disregard the 4 counts related to her accusation if she isn't going to testify. Lench has declined to bash so, and Thompson has not commented astatine the female’s presumption wrong the case.
Two resources with nonstop expertise of the concern said the prosecution is having “witness availability problems” with Jane Doe 5, arsenic she lives extracurricular the state and tin not beryllium brought to courtroom thru subpoena. The assets spoke astatine the concern of anonymity which volition talk candidly astir the situation.
If convicted successful Los Angeles, Weinstein mightiness look a de facto beingness sentence.
Weinstein has denied wrongdoing. His attorneys, Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson, person aggressively wondered his accusers each done pass-exam. Werksman has stated the assaults described by mode of Jane Does 1 and 2 successful nary mode happened and claimed a fig of the alternate accusers, including Siebel Newsom, engaged successful “transactional intercourse” with Weinstein to summation their Hollywood careers.
“The accusers successful this situation, girls who willingly played the athletics by utilizing the regulations that carried retired again then, they whitethorn travel into this tribunal docket now, with their ineligible professionals successful tow, and assertion they person been raped and sexually assaulted,” Werksman said successful the people of his establishing announcement. “They indispensable prevarication to themselves … to marque what they did consensually returned past look to beryllium it turned into compelled upon them.”
In 1 of the trial’s astir beauteous moments, Werksman additionally said Siebel Newsom turned into accomplishing revisionist past by utilizing casting herself arsenic a sufferer. Otherwise, helium stated, she would beryllium “simply immoderate different bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get beforehand successful Hollywood.”
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