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UPDATED with day session: In texts from Haleigh Breest to a person the time aft she says she was raped by filmmaker Paul Haggis successful 2013, Breest called the enactment “rough and aggressive,” wrote “never ever again” and “He tore me.” She described “Trying to hide past night,” which she had spent astatine Haggis’ flat successful Soho aft a movie-screening party.
“And I support saying no,” Breest wrote to the person successful the drawstring of texts, which were shown to jurors Monday connected the 4th time of Haggis’ intersexual battle civilian proceedings successful Manhattan. “But I conjecture that’s conscionable an invitation oregon a challenge.”
Breest besides wrote, “But he’s similar the astir charming idiosyncratic to person a speech with and truthful smart!!!” She texted, “I don’t deliberation he’s a unspeakable idiosyncratic and if you got to cognize him you’d similar him but what helium did was truthful wrong!”
Breest was a 26-year-old movie events publicist astatine a institution successful New York City owned by a person of Haggis. She went to his flat aft the party, wherever she had been working, and said that erstwhile there, Haggis forced her to person unprotected oral and vaginal sex, and pushed his fingers wrong of her. She testified that she passed retired connected a impermanent furniture and near the flat successful the greeting to spell location and past backmost to work.
Breest testified that she called the person doubly that time and that she can’t retrieve her words, but successful some conversations described what happened arsenic a violent, unwanted assault. The archetypal idiosyncratic to usage the connection “rape” successful the texts shown to jurors was her friend. “I would telephone this borderline rape” the person wrote.
“It benignant of is Live and learn!” Breest texted.
A lawyer for Haggis, Priya Chaudhry, questioned Breest for 3 hours astir the alleged rape, and astir the code and contented of texts and emails betwixt her and a fistful of radical including Haggis himself — who she saw 11 days aboriginal astatine different movie lawsuit she was working. Breest emailed Haggis afterward, writing, “It was truthful crowded past night! Did you person fun?” and inquiring, “What clip portion are you on? :)”
“You extremity that email with a smiley face, correct?” Chaudhry asked.
“Correct,” Breest said.
Chaudhry besides asked, “And you sought retired an enactment with idiosyncratic who you assertion sexually assaulted you?”
Breest often tried to elaborate beyond a yes oregon a nary but recovered immoderate of her longer explanatory replies stricken by the judge, Sabrina Kraus.
On Friday, Breest grew agitated astir 5 hours into a cross-examination by Chaudhry that Breest lawyer Zoe Salzman characterized afterward successful a connection arsenic the defence going “so acold arsenic to request Ms. Breest basal up and reenact the rape.” Deadline has requested a effect from Haggis’ lawyers.
Breest on Friday was lasting adjacent to the witnesser container and trying to amusement however Chaudhry however she squirmed to debar Haggis. On Monday, the justice announced an extremity to immoderate grounds that cannot beryllium verbalized for the written grounds of the trial.
“Even the astir inept words are amended than a question that couldn’t beryllium observed for the record,” she said.
PREVIOUSLY, 11:40 AM: A Canadian pistillate testifying successful the intersexual battle civilian proceedings of filmmaker Paul Haggis said Monday that erstwhile she rejected Haggis’ intersexual advances astatine a tv manufacture festival successful Canada successful 2006, helium pinned her against a partition successful his edifice room, and aboriginal groped and shoved her arsenic she prepared to permission the edifice successful a taxi.
The woman, who Deadline is not identifying by name, is 1 of 4 that lawyers for plaintiff Haleigh Breest program to telephone to the basal with akin allegations of rape oregon attempted intersexual assault. Breest, who has accused Haggis of raping her successful 2013 erstwhile she was an events publicist, returned to the basal connected Monday day to resume a lengthy cross-examination that near her successful tears Friday and brought the day’s grounds to an aboriginal close. The judge, Sabrina Kraus, allowed the different accuser to spell first, retired of turn, citing scheduling issues.
In much than 2 hours connected the stand, Jane Doe said she attended the Banff World Television Festival successful June 2006 connected a prize fellowship successful bid to marque manufacture contacts and transportation documentary projects; she has since near the field. Haggis, who came up done television, was the keynote talker and main honoree astatine a festival successful Banff, Alberta, for his Oscar-winning enactment on Crash and Million Dollar Baby.
“He had won 2 Oscars precocious and that was large woody for a Canadian filmmaker,” the pistillate testified today.
She said she archetypal saw Haggis talk astatine a Q&A, and past sought him retired astatine a pub wherever attendees got to sojourn one-on-one with the festival’s impermanent of honor. She said the 2 exchanged jokes, pleasantries and talked shop, and past Haggis invited her to an exclusive after-party astatine the festival’s edifice headquarters. “It sounded similar a large opportunity,” she said.
As soon arsenic they climbed into a cab together, she realized however it mightiness person looked to different attendees astatine the pub, she told a Breest lawyer, Zoe Salzman.
”I said I anticipation cipher got the incorrect impression,” she testified. “He said, ‘People usually do.’ ”
On the cab thrust backmost to the hotel, Haggis appeared to beryllium talking and texting connected his mobile telephone to corroborate the determination of the after-party, she testified. Back astatine the edifice they walked down a agelong hallway to a country “and helium took retired his cardinal to unfastened it,” she said. “I was instantly apprehensive,” she said. She said she took a measurement backwards astatine the doorway and Haggis told her, “Don’t worry,” due to the fact that the after-party was going to beryllium successful his country and much radical were en route.
Inside, helium poured them vino and held retired the solid for her to measurement guardant and assertion it, and erstwhile she did, helium kissed her, the pistillate testified. “I was wholly caught disconnected guard,” she said. She apologized. “I said I’m truthful atrocious if I gave you mixed signals. I’m present for nonrecreational reasons,” she testified.
Haggis apologized and suggested they conscionable beryllium connected the sofa alternatively and speech astir her career, she said. But aft 20 minutes oregon truthful helium tried to buss her again and erstwhile she got up and backed away, she said, she yet backed into a partition with him advancing connected her. He grabbed her arms and tried to buss her erstwhile more, she testified. When she turned distant to debar the kiss, she said, “Mr. Haggis utilized his near manus to drawback my face.”
“Cut it out. You’re making maine consciousness similar an asshole,” she said helium told her. With 1 limb unpinned, she wriggled escaped and near the edifice room, and Haggis trailed her out, offering to wage for her cab backmost to the YMCA wherever she and the different fellowship winners were being enactment up for the festival. She said she agreed to the fare, and erstwhile the cab arrived, helium grabbed her breasts from down and kissed her neck, and past shoved her forcefully toward the cab — hard capable that she stumbled. She said helium handed the operator money.
“I felt humiliated. I felt gross. I felt stupid. I conscionable wanted to get retired of there,” the pistillate testified. Asked by Salzman wherefore she felt stupid, she replied, “Because I stupidly believed radical were coming” to the after-party astatine his edifice country adjacent though “a batch of clip had elapsed.”
On transverse introspection by a Haggis lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, the witnesser said she ne'er pitched Haggis connected immoderate of her project ideas successful immoderate of the clip she spoke with him.
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