Focus Live: Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein hit with new rape charges in Los Angeles. Video / Will Trafford
Actress Jessica Mann testified in court that Harvey Weinstein once asked if she had "ever had a golden shower" before urinating on her, saying she was shocked by the "gross" act.
The 34-year-old sexual assault accuser told Manhattan Supreme Court jurors that Weinstein performed the act on her while thepair were in a shower together in a Los Angeles hotel, New York Post reports.
"We were in the shower. He wanted to shower first which was beneficial to me … and he asked me to come into the shower and then he said to me, 'Have you ever had a golden shower?' and I said, 'No', and then I felt him peeing on me," Mann said.
The prosecution's key witness, Jessica Mann (R) arrives at Manhattan criminal court to testify at the sex assault trial of Harvey Weinstein. Photo / Getty Images
The actress made the claims while she was cross-examined after testifying last week that Weinstein once peed on her.
"I was in shock by it," Mann said while choking up.
"It was gross … I turned into the corner of the shower and just looked away."
The defence continued to paint Mann as an opportunistic manipulator who took advantage of Weinstein while pursuing an acting career, even after he allegedly raped her, AP reports.
Mann said she "tried to make him my pseudo father" after a rough upbringing.
Rotunno, a known #MeToo skeptic, sought to shoot down those explanations by zeroing in on the accuser's admission that she also had non-coerced sexual encounters with Weinstein that she said only happened after "a long negotiation." Even then, "I wasn't happy to do it," she said.
"You manipulated Weinstein every single time, isn't that correct?" Rotunno asked.
She responded: "I felt there was an aspect to the way I felt I needed to protect myself that had an element of manipulation."
Harvey Weinstein arrives at court for his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault. Photo / Getty Images
At one point, Rotunno shot back: "You made a choice to have sexual encounters with Harvey Weinstein when you weren't sexually attracted to him. ... You liked the parties and you liked the power."
Mann, who is to return to the stand on Tuesday (local time), had told the jury last week on direct examination that Weinstein trapped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013, and angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, and then raped her.
The second attack came eight months later at a Beverly Hills hotel, where she worked as a hairdresser, after she told Weinstein that she was dating an actor, she said.
"You owe me one more time!" she said he screamed at her. She said she begged him not to take off her clothes, but he ripped off her pants before pushing her legs apart and raping her.
Mann was grilled on Monday (local time) about emails that continued after those alleged attacks.
From the emails, it appeared she was still cutting Weinstein's hair in early 2014. In one January 2014 email, he wrote her: "That's the best hair cut and trim I've gotten. I've gotten a million compliments. Thank you."
She wrote back: "Your the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!! But thank you that makes me so happy to hear :)"
Rotunno asked her whether she was trying to make Weinstein "believe that you cared about him".
Harvey Weinstein arrives at court for his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault. Photo / Getty Images
"I did want him to think that I was naive and safe and not a threat," she responded.
"I'm observant but I'm not that smart," she replied.
Sirens blared outside the courthouse as the witness later read from a lengthy confessional email she sent to her then-boyfriend in May 2014 about her relationship with Weinstein.
"Harvey was my father's age and he gave me all the validation I needed at that time," she said as she choked up, adding, "I tried to make him a pseudo father."
She began weeping uncontrollably after reading a passage attempting to explain that she had submitted to Weinstein's sexual advances because she had been sexually assaulted when she was younger. She was still crying after an eight-minute break when the judge cut the day short.
Weinstein appeared to be sleeping at times during the emotional testimony, closing his eyes and drooping his head in his chair at the defence table. A juror also dozed off for a spell, prompting a scolding from judge.
Asked why he was sleeping as he left the courtroom, Weinstein scowled at a reporter: "Oh please."
Harvey Weinstein, center, leaves Manhattan's Criminal Court after a key accuser in his rape trial testified. Photo / AP
The testimony comes at a pivotal moment in the trial of Weinstein, whose downfall energised the #MeToo movement. He is charged in New York with the 2013 rape and also sexually assaulting Mimi Haleyi, a former Project Runway production assistant, in 2006. A conviction could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Weinstein, 67, has insisted that any sexual encounters were consensual. His lawyers aim to raise doubts about the rape accuser's credibility by seizing on her complicated history with the former film producer.
The woman who was being cross-examined Monday caused a stir Friday when, asked by a prosecutor to describe Weinstein's body, she said that when she first saw him naked, she noticed "extreme scarring" and thought he had characteristics of both male and female genitalia.
"When I first saw him, I was filled with compassion, absolute compassion," she said, adding, "It seemed his anger came from a place of pain."
