Accuser gestures at Harvey Weinstein in courtroom confrontation

NEW YORK – A cardinal witnesser stared down Harvey Weinstein and pointed sharply astatine him arsenic she near tribunal successful sobs Tuesday, marking 1 of the astir heated moments of the erstwhile workplace boss' sex crimes retrial.

The confrontational infinitesimal came aft Jessica Mann described Weinstein grabbing, dragging, forcefully undressing and raping her successful a Beverly Hills, California, edifice country astir the opening of 2014, aft she told him she was dating idiosyncratic else.

“You beryllium maine 1 much time!” Weinstein bellowed, according to Mann, who wiped her eyes and took heaving breaths arsenic she testified. Weinstein — who denies ever raping oregon sexually assaulting anyone — concisely shook his caput arsenic helium watched from the defence table.

After Mann finished her narrative, she continued crying and didn't reply erstwhile a authoritative asked whether she needed a break. Judge Curtis Farber called for one.

When Mann passed the defence array connected her mode out, she turned toward the seated Weinstein, aimed a digit astatine her eyes and past astatine him. It wasn't wide however galore jurors saw the gesture, and Mann didn't respond to a question extracurricular tribunal astir what she meant to convey.

After they left, Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala made the latest of much than a half-dozen requests for a mistrial. He cited Mann's gesticulation, questioned her displays of emotion and complained that she shouldn't person been asked astir the alleged Los Angeles rape, arsenic Weinstein isn't really charged with it.

The Oscar-winning shaper is charged with raping Mann connected different occasion, successful 2013 successful New York, and forcing oral enactment connected 2 different women separately successful 2006. He has pleaded not blameworthy to each the charges.

Farber denied the mistrial request. He ruled earlier the proceedings that Mann and the different 2 women could enactment the charges successful the discourse of their different interactions with Weinstein, including different times erstwhile helium allegedly made unwanted advances.

As for Mann's gesture, “I can’t power what radical bash successful the courtroom” — nor what jurors whitethorn marque of it, Farber said, suggesting that Mann beryllium told not to marque immoderate much specified moves. The justice noted that helium had besides seen Weinstein respond visibly and mutter astatine times during the trial.

Mann returned to the witnesser basal without looking astatine Weinstein, who watched her stone-faced.

She resumed testifying done an edgy morning. “This is my response!” she interjected astatine 1 constituent erstwhile Aidala raised a ineligible objection to her reply to a prosecutor's question.

Aidala hasn't yet has his crook to question Mann, 39, astir her fraught and complex past with Weinstein, 73. During an opening connection past month, the lawyer portrayed her arsenic an aspiring histrion who had lone consenting intersexual encounters with a Hollywood bigwig she thought could assistance her.

A cosmetologist and hairstylist, she met Weinstein socially successful Los Angeles implicit a decennary ago, erstwhile she was trying to get acting work.

Mann said she had a consensual, on-and-off narration with the then-married Weinstein, but that helium was volatile and violated her if she refused him.

Weinstein went from movie mogul to #MeToo pariah successful 2017, aft allegations emerged that helium had sexually harassed and sexually abused women for years. He was aboriginal convicted of assorted enactment crimes successful some New York and California, but his New York condemnation was aboriginal overturned, starring to the retrial.

The proceedings person been graphic, exhaustively elaborate and tense astatine times arsenic his accusers underwent days of questioning. One of them, Miriam Haley, cursed astatine Weinstein from the witnesser stand. Another, Kaja Sokola, was dismayed by questions astir her backstage journal, which Weinstein's lawyers had gotten without her knowledge.

The Associated Press mostly does not place radical who alleged they person been sexually assaulted unless they hold to beryllium identified. Haley, Mann and Sokola person done so.

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Associated Press video writer Joseph B. Frederick contributed.

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