The Harvey Weinstein Trial: Unfiltered

Claudia Salinas, an actress, model and Instagram influencer took the witness stand today and denied the claims by Weinstein accuser Lauren Young.  Young said that Salinas had lured and trapped her in a hotel bathroom so that she could be sexually assaulted by the movie producer .

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Today the defense called a memory expert who famously exposed the fake Satanic abuse cases in California in the 80s.  Dr Elizabeth Loftus is a cognitive psychologist who argues that people can become more vulnerable to post event information like media reports and questioning by police that will effect and shape their recollections of the events.  Her testimony includes explanations that could undermine the veracity of some of the accusers accounts.   It's a very controversial theory . . . but so was prior testimony from Dr. Barbara Ziv.  We give you the audio of both so you can decide for yourself.

There was also a kerfuffle in court today over defense attorney Donna Rotunno's interview with the New York Times podcast, The Daily, where she made some controversial remarks about the complainants.  Have a listen to hear her explanation for seemingly disobeying the judges orders.

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The Defense calls for a dismissal of all the charges as the Prosecution rests. The judge is less than impressed. A defense witness talks about a "dog pile of actresses" and claims a friend who claimed rape had actually told him about a consensual encounter. Hear the same witness defend Harvey Weinstein and how the work he did that justified a $50 thousand check from the Weinstein Company.

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The final accuser of Harvey Weinstein testified in court today.  Her name is Lauren Young and she is one of the witnesses  testifying so the prosecution can show a history of predatory sexual abuses. Young alleges that in 2013 she was enticed into his hotel room by a woman she thought was her friend and that Weinstein then cornered her in a bathroom before sexually assaulting her.  Weinstein allegedly said: “How am I going to know if you can act?” and “This is what all actresses do to make it.”  According to Young, she thought she was visiting Weinstein to discuss a script and followed him to a hotel room upstairs because he said he had to get ready for an awards event involving Quentin Tarantino.  

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The big question at the end of today's trial was - Was the jury shown naked pictures of Harvey Weinstein and did the pictures confirm Jessica Mann's description of him being intersex and disfigured? That came at the end of eventful day where we heard from the third person in the Harvey Weinstein threesome and Jessica Mann who also took part.

Jessica took the stand again on Tuesday after her Monday testimony was cut short when the judge found her inconsolable from crying. Weinstein's defense completed the cross-examination of Mann which included more details about Weinstein and Mann's relationship. The defense aimed to paint Mann as a manipulative liar who used her relationship with Weinstein to further her acting career and gain access to exclusive Hollywood events. Weinstein invited Mann to Oscar parties and Mann regularly enjoyed the perks of her relationship with the movie producer.

Also testifying today was Italian actress Emanuela Postacchini who testified that Harvey Weinstein "manipulated" her and Jessica Mann into a failed threesome in Beverley Hills in 2013. Postracchini testified that the movie producer tried to orchestrate a threesome, instructing the women to engage with each other sexually.  According to Postracchini, Mann instead broke down into tears and laid down on the floor in the fetal position.

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It was the most dramatic day so far in the Harvey Weinstein trial.  Yesterday, we heard more from key witness and Weinstein accuser Jessica Mann as she was cross-examined by the defense.  The defense brought up a series of friendly emails between Mann and Weinstein and she was forced to defend her own words and tone.  She also gave another graphic recount of a sexual encounter with Weinstein. She claims it was abusive and therefore not consensual. At one point, Mann even sent Weinstein a friendly email asking him to meet her mother.  This was used by the defense to further question her claims.  The cross-examination further revealed that Mann saw Weinstein the day after her alleged rape and helped celebrate Weinstein's birthday.  Mann's testimony finished when she broke down and the judge decided that the testimony should resume Tuesday.  Listen to the dramatic reenactment of the courtroom highlights in this thrilling new episode.

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Today's testimony from Weinstein accuser Jessica Mann is very graphic and very bizarre.  It was one of the strangest court testimonies we have heard in our 25 years covering court. It was full of wild allegation and graphic descriptions of body parts and personal hygiene. Mann says she met Weinstein in 2012 or 2013 when she was an aspiring actress.  Mann's relationship with Weinstein was revealed to be complicated and was often  consensual according to Mann.  After the alleged rape, she went on to date Weinstein and according to Mann, he would call her whenever he "needed a fix."  When Mann recounts the alleged rape, she goes into graphic detail, at one point even says she thought at one point that Weinstein lacked proper male genitalia or was intersex.  Mann also testified that her relationship with Weinstein was mentally abusive and that “he was like Jekyll and Hyde.”

Will the jury believe that she continued to contact her rapist or will then believe the defense which is claiming she was always in a consensual relationship?

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In today's testimony we heard from several  witnesses who were brought to bolster the claims of the testimony from Dawn Dunning and Tarale Wulff.  We first heard from Australian Lincoln Davies, the former fiance of Dawn Dunning. Davies explains how they were invited to lavish parties through Dunning's connection to Weinstein.  He also recounts Dunning's shock when Weinstein allegedly asked her for a threesome. However his testimony came under attack when he said he couldn't remember the year or even the time of the year of the alleged incident.  He further revealed that she had not told him about the very serious sexual assault that she says had occurred before this meeting where she alleges Harvey Weinstein put his hand violently up her skirt - in a hotel suite in Manhattan.

Then we heard from Mauricio Ferrigno who was the manager of Cipriani's Upstairs lounge where Tarale Wulff was a cocktail waitress. She says she was led upstairs by Weinstein in the restaurant to a darkened terrace strewn with building materials where she alleges he assaulted her. He said he saw them on the stairs but saw nothing untoward.

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Yesterday's testimony was full of celebrity mentions including Uma Thurman, Charlize Theron, and Salma Hayek.  It began with Dawn Dunning - another Weinstein accuser.  Dunning met Weinstein nearly two decades ago when she was a waitress and aspiring actress. Dunning alleges that Weinstein sexually assaulted her.  After the assault, Dunning says she still went for a meeting with the movie producer and that claims that Weinstein offered her a lucrative contract for three movies if she agreed to a threesome with his assistant.  When Dunning declined, she said Weinstein became angry, "You’ll never make it in this business! This is how the industry works!” He apparently screamed that this is how Uma Thurman, Charlize Theron, and Salma Hayek all got their big breaks.  

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Today's testimony is short but compelling and it comes from Elizabeth Entin, a friend of Weinstein accuser Mimi Haleyi. Entin is a former roommate of Haleyi and she described how Haleyi told her that Weinstein forced oral sex on her.  She also told the court that she advised Haleyi to speak to a lawyer after the alleged assault but she declined. Entin also explained how Haleyi told her  that  Weinstein barged into her apartment and pestered her inviting her to Paris as his guest.

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