Rape accuser Jessica Mann testifies against Harvey Weinstein for a third time

NEW YORK– Jessica Mann once had reason to think she was done being publicly questioned about Harvey Weinstein.

She had spent three days explaining to a jury that the former movie mogul had raped her, explaining why she continued a relationship with him afterward and discussing other deeply personal aspects of her life, sobbing so hard that the court ended early. Weinstein was subsequently convicted, in a 2020 verdict seen as a victory for the #MeToo campaign against sexual misconduct.

Yet six years later, Mann took to the witness stand again, overtaking Weinstein in court Monday and beginning — for the third time — to give the jury her account of what happened between them.

Mann testified that she met Weinstein at an acquaintance’s engagement party around early 2013. She said he was wearing a tuxedo and “looked very cheerful, so I went over to introduce myself to him.”

Mann was living in Los Angeles and trying to break into acting, she said. Later that evening, she said, she ran into Weinstein again. She testified that he bragged about his filmmaking prowess and his ability to spot talent.

“He said I was really pretty, prettier than Natalie Portman,” Mann testified, echoing her earlier testimony. She added that she ended up giving Weinstein her phone number, thinking she would make a professional — not romantic — connection.

“He was interested in my looks. I thought I had just been discovered,” she said.

Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone. From his wheelchair at the defense table, he watched Mann testify, occasionally leaning in to speak with his lawyer. Mann only looked at Weinstein when asked to point to him in the courtroom.

Mann’s allegation of a 2013 rape at a Manhattan hotel is under renewed scrutiny amid a series of legal twists. First, Weinstein’s 2020 conviction was overturned for reasons unrelated to his testimony. Then a jury failed to decide her part in a retrial that involved multiple accusers and allegations last year, leaving only her rape charge to be retried.

“I am ready, willing and able to endure this as many times as necessary to ensure justice and accountability,” Mann said in a statement at the time.

This determination must now be tested.

Mann could be questioned for several days by prosecutors and Weinstein’s new lawyers. Like their predecessors, they portrayed Mann as a wily wannabe who got involved with a Hollywood heavy hitter, had entirely consensual sex with him, enjoyed his connections and invitations, then turned on him after news reports about other women’s claims about Weinstein. The 2017 report catalyzed the #MeToo movement.

Mann, 40, grew up in a small town in Washington state and trained as a hairdresser, but she aspired to become an actress and moved to Los Angeles in her 20s. She was sometimes so broke that she lived in her car, but she had done commercial and film work before meeting Weinstein.

Delighted that the Oscar-winning producer had expressed interest in her career, Mann accepted invitations to get together, starting with a shopping trip for books about film, she testified. Within months, she said, Weinstein began making sexual advances toward her that she had not invited but accepted.

She said she entered, with confused feelings, into a relationship with the then-married tycoon. Sometimes she appreciated his encouragement, other times she was unhappy with his sexual demands, and she was always aware of his career power.

In March 2013, Mann and a friend traveled to New York and she arranged to meet Weinstein for breakfast with his friends. She testified at previous trials that he put her alone in a hotel room, slammed the door when she tried to leave and eventually raped her, despite her telling him “I don’t want to do that” and “no.”

Afterward, Mann continued to see and have what she said was largely consensual sexual relations with Weinstein. At times over the next four years, she emailed him “I miss you,” “There’s no one else I’d like to catch up with who understands me as well as you do,” and “I love you, I always do. But I hate feeling like a date.”

Weinstein’s lawyers argued the messages showed there was nothing more than a caring relationship. Mann said she was trying to navigate a complicated dynamic with an unstable man.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they agree to be named, as Mann did.