Paul Haggis' Defense Wins Battle to Call Ex-Scientology Actress Leah Remini - The Daily Beast

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Former Scientologist Leah Remini is expected to attest connected Monday astatine director Paul Haggis’ rape proceedings aft a justice allowed his defence squad to telephone her arsenic a last-minute witness.

The actress, podcast host, and writer of Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, is expected to code the tribunal connected Monday via a unrecorded steam.

“That’s what I’m expecting,” Haggis’ lawyer Seth Zuckerman told The Daily Beast. “I can’t marque immoderate promises. Nothing’s definite.”

Shortly earlier 11 a.m. Friday, Judge Sabrina Kraus dismissed the assemblage to sermon the anticipation of Remini testifying.

Haggis, a erstwhile Scientologist, who publically defected from the religion successful 2009 aft 35 years arsenic a religion member, has argued the arguable religion conjured the civilian rape lawsuit against him arsenic portion of a coordinated vendetta to defame him implicit his whistleblowing efforts.

In September, Kraus ruled Haggis could reason that the Church of Scientology had invented the intersexual battle case.

“Leah Remini would attest principally astir 2 topics,” Haggis’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry told Kraus. “She is, if not fig 1 and fig two, enemies of Scientology and things they’ve done to her and the mode that Scientology has done these things—her idiosyncratic acquisition with the assorted tactics utilized to destruct her.”

Chaudhry besides indicated Remini would service arsenic a quality witness.

“She was calved into Scientology and besides benignant of calved into Hollywood, and successful some of those communities she is precise acquainted with Mr. Haggis’ estimation regarding immoderate aggression oregon unit towards women,” Chaudhry explained.

Breest’s counsel Zoe Salzman, however, interjected, echoing the judge’s concerns that Remini’s grounds could beryllium repetitive.

“I don’t deliberation Ms. Remini’s idiosyncratic acquisition is immoderate much applicable to this lawsuit than Mr. Rinder’s, oregon Melissa Haggis’ oregon Mr. Haggis,” Salzman argued. “None of these witnesses are drafting immoderate transportation to Scientology and this lawsuit and truthful it is cumulative. We’ve heard implicit and implicit that this is simply a unspeakable enactment that does unspeakable things.”

Salzman blasted the defence team’s Scientology defence arsenic “scandalous,” referring to the anticipation Remini could attest arsenic “duplicate testimony” astatine the “11th hour.”

Kraus, however, sided with Haggis’ ineligible team, indicating she would let Remini to testify.

Ex-Scientology spokesperson and high-ranking enforcement Mike Rinder testified past week connected Haggis’ behalf, telling a assemblage that Remini, Haggis, and himself were among Scientology’s top-three nationalist enemies.

Rinder and Remini, who hosted the A&E Emmy-winning bid Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, antecedently released a associated connection besides accusing the Church of Scientology of manufacturing the case.

“We expect the adjacent ‘revelations’ astir Paul Haggis successful this run to destruct him to beryllium based connected accusation culled from his Scientology files successful the signifier of much ‘anonymous’ accusers, hiding down a lawyer who volition ne'er person to disclose who is paying their bill,” their earlier connection read.

Haggis was grilled for a 2nd consecutive time Friday by defence lawyers representing a erstwhile publicist who accused the Crash manager of raping her astatine his penthouse suite successful 2013.

Attorney Ilann Maazel opened his 2nd time of cross-examination by tersely quizzing the Hollywood shaper astir the hours starring up to the alleged intersexual battle of Haleigh Breest, a erstwhile publicist who accused him of raping her astatine his SoHo loft aft a Manhattan movie premiere afterparty successful 2013.

Minutes into cross-examination, Maazel showed a photograph of histrion Catherine Zeta-Jones hugging Haggis astatine the afterparty for the premiere of 2013 thriller Side Effects, hours earlier the alleged intersexual battle occurred.

“You didn’t deliberation Catherine Zeta-Jones was romantically funny successful you did you?” Maazel asked.

“No,” Haggis replied.

“She was conscionable being affable successful your opinion?” Maazel responded.

“We’re adjacent friends,” Haggis said.

The soirée successful question had been attended by a fig of A-list celebrities including Michael Douglas and Jude Law. Breest, who astatine the clip worked arsenic a publicist for Cinema Society, the enactment hosting the event, which regularly catered reddish carpet events with a rotating formed of Hollywood fixtures, was 26 astatine the time.

Haggis testified helium archetypal saw Breest erstwhile arriving astatine the after-party wherever the brace shared a speedy hug. Haggis said the brace had exchanged “flirtatious” work-related emails for a fig of months prior.

“We met and hugged but not astatine the door,” Haggis said.

“And rapidly aft that, you went to talk with Jude Law?” Maazel asked.

“Sometime 3 oregon 4 minutes aft that, yes,” Haggis said.

Maazel besides sparred with Haggis implicit his intersexual habits, whether helium utilized lubricant, kept condoms successful his apartment, his vasectomy, and his mentation of consent — and peculiarly the meaning of the connection ‘no.’

“While you were trying to propulsion disconnected Ms. Breest’s tights, Ms. Breest said the connection ‘no,’ correct?:

“Yes, she utilized the word,” Haggis stated.

“She said ‘no’ 2 oregon 3 times, correct?” Maazel countered.

“As a portion of a sentence, yes,” Haggis testified.

“According to you, she did not accidental ‘no’ successful the mode that 1 means ‘no,’ correct?” Maazel asked.

“She did not accidental ‘no, stop’, that’s correct,” Haggis said.

“‘No’ does not ever mean ‘no’ to you, is that fair?” Maazel said sharply, to which Haggis’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry promptly objected, earlier Judge Sabrina Kraus sustained.

Haggis and Breest’s lawyer past clashed implicit whether the filmmaker had vaginally penetrated Breest with his penis, seizing connected a 2019 deposition connection wherever the screenwriter said helium had “no memory” of it, contempt definitively denying connected the basal Thursday he’d ever had intersexual intercourse with her.

“And you told Ms. Breest you had a vasectomy earlier you penetrated her vagina with your penis? Maazel asked him.

“I can’t reply that ‘yes’ oregon ‘no,’” Haggis answered. “I person nary recollection of penetrating her with my penis. I mightiness have.”

“You don’t cognize whether oregon not you said to Ms. Breest, ‘you’re bully and tight’”?

“I don’t deliberation I ever said that,” Haggis replied.

In tribunal connected Thursday, Haggis had testified that Breest appeared to look “bashful” and “cartoony” during the alleged tryst, comparing her demeanor to the cartoon Betty Boop and Roger Rabbit quality Jessica Rabbit. At 1 point, Breest’s defence squad displayed images of some cartoon characters for the jury, which is made up of six women and 3 men.

“Are you alert Betty Boop is considered to beryllium a sexist and degrading cartoon character?” Maazel asked arsenic a achromatic and achromatic representation of the animated quality posed suggestively successful a abbreviated achromatic formal flashed crossed courtroom screens.

Chaudhry objected to Maazel’s enquiry connected instauration of hearsay, which Judge Sabrina Kraus sustained.

A second, suggestive representation of Jessica Rabbit successful a reddish dress, reddish heels, and arm-length purple gloves with legs crossed was besides displayed for jurors.

Four different women person besides travel guardant alleging Haggis raped oregon attempted to sexually battle them betwixt 1996 and 2015. On Thursday, the Canadian screenwriter straight denied the allegations connected the stand.

“I don’t cognize wherefore women—or anyone—would prevarication astir things similar this, marque up oregon twist the truth,” Haggis said successful tribunal Thursday.

Haggis again straight addressed accusations during his cross-examination Friday.

Haggis’ household members, including his son, 3 daughters, and his ex-wife Dallas histrion Deborah Rennard, arsenic good arsenic different supporters of the Million Dollar Baby writer, packed 2 courtroom assemblage benches and stoically listened to the Canadian screenwriter’s 3rd consecutive time of testimony.

Before tribunal adjourned for the day, Haggis’ attorneys called the week’s last quality witness, a California novelist who worked arsenic Haggis’ adjunct for 23 years, to instrumentality the stand.

Gian Schwehr, 48, testified that the Quantum of Solace writer’s alleged behaviour successful the lawsuit was inconsistent with her longtime idiosyncratic narration with him and cognition of his conduct. She testified that she’d ne'er seen Haggis enactment violently oregon inappropriately towards women.

“In this case, Ms. Breest claims that Mr. Haggis violently raped her,” Zuckerman asked Schwehr. “Is that accordant of your cognition with Mr. Haggis?”

“No,” Schwehr, who is inactive employed by Haggis, said.

“Does that alteration your sentiment of him?” Zuckerman asked her.

“No,” she replied.

“Why?” Zuckerman said.

“That doesn’t match,” Schwehr added.

Haggis declined to remark connected his 3 days of testimony.

Breest’s attorneys, however, characterized Haggis’ grounds successful his defence arsenic “damning.”

“He’s 1 of the slightest credible witnesses I’ve seen successful 25 years of practice,” Maazel told The Daily Beast extracurricular court. “He seems to person nary representation of the astir important facts successful the case.”

“We astir didn’t request to cross-examine him,” Salzman added.

Closing arguments are expected to get underway Wednesday. Lawyers for Breest and Haggis declined to remark extracurricular tribunal connected Friday.

After 13 days of proceedings proceedings, however, Haggis’ lawyers person struggled to straight link the intersexual battle allegations involving Breest to the “extreme” religion’s “dirty tricks.”

Breest’s lawyers, meanwhile, person labeled Haggis’ Scientology defence arsenic a smokescreen designed to distract jurors.

“[It’s] pathetic, absurd, ridiculous, embarrassing,” Breest’s lawyer Ilann Maazel told The Daily Beast extracurricular tribunal successful October. “This full Scientology thought is an effort to distract the assemblage from the existent case, the existent evidence. This is not a lawsuit astir Scientology. This is simply a lawsuit astir what Paul Haggis did to Haleigh Breest.”

The Church of Scientology has besides firmly refuted Haggis’ accusations involving the spiritual organization's alleged ties to the intersexual battle case—or having immoderate relation with immoderate of the case’s victims. Karin Pouw, a Scientology spokesperson, alternatively accused Haggis of “penning mendacious stories astir the Church for a decade” to “cover up” his “bad deeds.”

“The Church has thing to bash with the claims against Haggis nor does it person immoderate narration to the attorneys down the lawsuit of the accusers,” Karin Pouw, a Scientology spokesperson antecedently told The Daily Beast successful a statement. “The Church has thing to bash with the claims against Haggis nor does it person immoderate narration to his accusers.”

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