Mel Gibson to Testify Against Harvey Weinstein in L.A. Trial - Variety

Mel Gibson tin beryllium called to attest against Harvey Weinstein astatine the producer’s upcoming Los Angeles rape trial, a justice ruled connected Friday.

Prosecutors privation to telephone the histrion to enactment the allegations of Jane Doe 3, who claims that Weinstein sexually assaulted her aft she gave him a massage astatine his edifice successful 2010. According to Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez, the pistillate aboriginal told Gibson astir the incidental during a massage, and Gibson’s grounds would assistance buttress her allegation.

Judge Lisa B. Lench allowed prosecutors to telephone Gibson to the stand. She besides denied a defence petition that they beryllium allowed to inquire Gibson astir racist and antisemitic statements helium has made implicit the years. But the defence volition beryllium allowed to inquire whether Gibson holds a grudge against Weinstein.

The defence argued that Gibson has sick volition toward Weinstein dating from the merchandise of “Passion of the Christ,” which was wide seen to play connected antisemitic themes. Weinstein aboriginal published a book, “Perspectives connected the Passion of the Christ,” that challenged the film.

“This created a feud betwixt Mr. Gibson and Mr. Weinstein,” argued Mark Werksman, Weinstein’s attorney.

When Werksman inaccurately claimed that the movie won an Oscar for champion picture, Weinstein gestured nary with his arms with a look of disdain.

Werksman besides argued that Gibson is “now trying to rehabilitate his representation by becoming a champion of the #MeToo movement.”

According to the attorneys, Gibson told investigators that Jane Doe 3 had a “PTSD reaction” erstwhile helium brought up the sanction “Harvey” during a massage. Gibson was talking astir Weinstein successful the discourse of a concern deal. The pistillate stopped the massage, started crying and “gave the thought that Weinstein sexually assaulted oregon groped her,” Werksman said.

Werksman argued that helium should beryllium allowed to face Gibson astir his antisemitic tirade that followed his 2006 arrest, arsenic good arsenic an antisemitic remark helium allegedly erstwhile made to Winona Ryder and different racist statements.

“How is it applicable if he’s racist toward African Americans oregon Latinos?” Lench asked.

“It goes to his unwillingness to assistance adjacent presumption to idiosyncratic who is not of his ilk. He has a white-supremacist view,” Werksman responded. “Someone with white-supremacist values mightiness person nary occupation perjuring himself against a Jewish defendant.”

Lench yet permitted the defense to inquire Gibson astir immoderate animosity toward Weinstein.

“I’m not going to let you to get into his different comments that whitethorn bespeak his wide demeanor about, arsenic you say, ‘people who are not of his ilk,'” she said. “I volition let you to question him astir whether oregon not determination is idiosyncratic animosity betwixt the 2 of them.”

The justice aboriginal allowed the defence to authorities the sanction of a book, “Naked Massage,” that Jane Doe 3 was trying to people with Weinstein’s help.

The tribunal spent the archetypal fractional of the time discussing Jane Doe 1, an Italian exemplary who alleges that Weinstein raped her astatine the Mr C. edifice during the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival successful February 2013.

The defence argued against the prosecution’s volition to usage alleged “fresh complaint” witnesses for each of the 5 alleged victims and 4 “prior atrocious acts” witnesses.

Weinstein’s lawyer Alan Jackson projected that the prosecution bounds its usage of caller complaints — statements made by a unfortunate wrong a abbreviated play of clip aft a transgression — to 1 per alleged victim, and nary for the uncharged witnesses.

“I don’t judge there’s immoderate lawsuit instrumentality that suggests they get to heap connected caller ailment witnesses successful multiples,” Jackson said, aboriginal adding. “It dilutes the evidence. I deliberation it’s a discarded of time. I deliberation it’s improper. I deliberation it dilutes Mr. Weinstein’s owed process.”

Describing it arsenic “Energizer Bunny prosecution,” Jackson said the instauration of caller complaints has “far much prejudice than value.”

Jackson referenced calls Jane Doe 1 made to 1 of the witnesses, Lubov Smirnova, saying “something unspeakable happened.” 

The “vague statement” is not a caller complaint, Jackson argued: “None of those person the specificity to emergence to a caller complaint. It’s prejudicial.”  

Lench ruled that some complaints made to Smirnova are admissible, successful summation to a complaint made to Jane Doe 1’s girl Maria C.

Lench volition let the defence to contiguous photographs into grounds of Jane Doe 1 posted connected societal media, including since-deleted kickboxing pictures that helium argued could telephone into question her quality to flooded oregon flight a threat. Although Lench agreed with Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson that the enactment of questioning could perpetuate a rape myth.

Jackson aboriginal argued that the prosecution assertion that Jane Doe 1 “did not accidental thing astir his scrotum oregon testicles successful her archetypal 2 interviews” was factually untrue. He cited 3 interviews with LAPD Detective Javier Vargas and Deputy District Attorney Lowrie Mendoza successful which she is quoted arsenic saying aggregate times that she was forced to “suck his balls, enactment his testicles successful her mouth.”

Weinstein doesn’t person testicles, Jackson said. Actress Jessica Mann testified successful graphic item during his New York proceedings astir his “deformed” genitalia.

After 3 days of assemblage selection, the excavation of imaginable jurors was narrowed to 160 by Friday.

Weinstein is facing 11 intersexual battle charges for alleged attacks against 5 women betwixt 2004 to 2013. The disgraced mogul is already serving a 23-year condemnation aft being convicted of rape and intersexual battle successful his New York proceedings successful 2020. New York’s highest tribunal has agreed to perceive an appeal, but a condemnation successful Los Angeles — wherever helium faces up to 140 years down bars — could efficaciously warrant that he’s down bars for life.