A model testified that Harvey Weinstein assaulted her several times over the years

A Norwegian model stood at Harvey Weinstein’s trial on Wednesday and testified that the former movie mogul raped her, masturbated in front of her, and offered to have sex with three people.

The complex testimony spanned a series of events over a number of years. The alleged incidents occurred during industry events such as the BAFTA Awards, New York Fashion Week, Cannes Film Festival and AFI Festival, as well as an audition for the Weinstein Company-distributed musical “Nine” in 2009.

Weinstein’s defense questioned the woman, known in the case as Natasia M., as to why she agreed to interview Weinstein repeatedly after she alleged she had been sexually assaulted. She spoke about the power imbalance between her and Weinstein, and told the jury that she worried that if she did not maintain a cordial relationship with Weinstein, he would blacklist her from the business world.

The prosecution summoned Natasia M. to establish a pattern of behavior as an unaccused witness in the case. (There are four Jane Doe and four unaccused witnesses at trial.)

He was called ‘One Phone Call Away Harvey,’ meaning he could make or break you. He was the most powerful person in Hollywood. Natasia M. said on the stage. Who could ruin my career, who had the fate of people’s lives in his hands.”

The first time she met Natasia M. Weinstein, there was no interaction, but she noticed him staring at her across the room. It was 2002 and she was at Cipriani in New York City with Naomi Campbell, who she was modeling with.

“He was sitting in a chair in a restaurant, staring at me, staring at me for a very long time. He wasn’t breaking his eyesight, so I yelled at the restaurant, ‘Who the fuck is this fat that thins me out?'” She said, “I don’t care who it is. This guy Bend “.

When Weinstein’s attorney, Mark Werksman, asked Natasia M. He asked her, “Who is this damned fat pig?” Is this what beautiful models call fat men? “

Natasia M. continued to tell her story. After that moment in 2002, she didn’t meet him again until the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 where she was with her friend, actress Michelle Rodriguez, and they stayed in a hotel room arranged by The Weinstein Company, but had no actual interaction with him. Next, Weinstein was spotted at NYFF in 2007 where she was making the press rounds, pursuant to her commitments as the face of a major modeling campaign. At NYFF, when she was on a modeling show for work, her publicist arranged for her to pose for a photo with Weinstein. She says when they took the photo, he was standing next to his then-wife, Marchesa co-founder Georgina Chapman. Mr. Weinstein’s first comments out of his mouth were, “Where are you staying and what is your room number?” Natasia M. says she is “surprised” that she has never spoken to Weinstein before in her life.

The next time Weinstein was seen, it was shortly after, at a post-BAFTA gala in London in 2008. The publicist for her modeling campaign arranged for her to take pictures again with Weinstein, thinking it would be a good brand. They had a short interaction at an industry event, took a few pictures and that was it. Until Weinstein suddenly burst into her hotel room in the middle of the night, without warning. Natasia M. explained that she had no idea how Weinstein knew where she lived, but she was woken up in the wee hours of the morning by Weinstein loudly knocking on her door and shouting his name to let her in. She was confused and opened the door. “He just broke in,” she said.

She continued, “He said, ‘No one can become a sister unless they pass through me! “I just thought this guy is so strong, I have no idea what to do in this situation and I just froze… I was so scared of this guy. He had a lot of strength.”

Natasia M. said Weinstein told her to “think of all the Oscars” celebrities have won and she thanked him during their acceptance speeches. She told the jury that she interpreted it as “everyone had to go through it—that is, comply.”

That’s when Weinstein allegedly raped her. “He took off his pants and pushed me onto the bed and climbed on top of me and I said to him, ‘I don’t do a sofa thing.'” It didn’t last long because I didn’t get any response because I just played dead. He got off me and finished himself. I got down in his hand… I didn’t fight him. I didn’t scream. I literally froze… I couldn’t think.”

Weinstein left her hotel room shortly after the alleged assault. When I woke up, I noticed a movie script on the table for “Nine,” the musical Weinstein produced in 2009. I assumed Weinstein left the script there for you to see.

She told the jury that she did not contact the police to report the alleged incident in London “because if you are an actress and you make a problem, you don’t work”. “If you’re tough, this thing is so prevalent in Hollywood that this guy is tough.”

Natasia M. had no further contact with Weinstein in London, but when she returned to Los Angeles where she was living, she wanted to reprise her role on “Nine,” despite the alleged assault. “I wanted to make the best out of this situation,” she said. “I thought I could spare him, but I wanted to get the part.”

Back in Los Angeles, she signed up for singing and dancing lessons since “Nine” was a musical, and told the judging panel that she spent a lot of her money on training because she was so committed to earning the part. She eventually got an audition, and when she showed up, she was dumbfounded and “terrified” that Weinstein was there. “I couldn’t focus on my audition,” she said. “He was just sitting there and I didn’t know he was going to be there.”

After the audition, Natassia M. sent an email with an MP3 recording of a singing demo to Weinstein and his staff. She explained that she paid herself to use a recording studio for the demo because she was taking the role very seriously. She said Weinstein responded by ordering her not to send the demo tape to his office, and instead told her to meet with his assistant at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. She agreed, believing that she would meet the assistant in the hallway and that he would never see Weinstein. I tried to give her the CD, and she said, ‘No, Mr. Weinstein wants you to follow me and talk about the movie.’ “

She said when she got to Weinstein’s room with his assistant, she gave Weinstein the demo tape and he laughed and threw it aside. I suddenly realized that the assistant was gone. “He tricked me into entering his hotel,” she testified. “Suddenly, I’m in his hotel room.”

Then I notice another woman in the hotel room. “I can’t believe he had me in this fucking suite with a whore. I was pissed,” she said, then told the jury they proposed to her in a threesome. Natasia M. told the judging panel that she was upset and felt forced, but she wanted the movie role, and she thought she could manage the situation.

I thought, “I’ll just pretend I’m really innocent, and not do anything… And this bitch, who I think is a slut, is like, ‘Oh she’s so shy,’ and she and Weinstein were laughing. And she gave him a blowjob.” (The judge prohibited the prosecution from naming the woman who was allegedly with Weinstein in the hotel room, though she was also connected to other Jane Doe allegations, earlier in the trial.) Natasia M. agreed to participate by donning a robe and watching Weinstein with the other woman, but told jurors she did not participate in any act.

“I was still trying to manage the situation because I really wanted to be able to do a good movie,” Natasia M. explained. “She’s got you, knowing that if you don’t comply, your career is going to fail…and it’s just not right.”

After that alleged incident on the Peninsula in 2008, Natasia M. did not see Weinstein until a few years later when she said she randomly bumped into him at an Oscars party she was attending with her boyfriend at the Soho House in Los Angeles when Weinstein saw her, and testified he pulled her aside, And he said, “I thought you were going to go to the tabloids.” She told Weinstein she would “never mess with the most powerful man in Hollywood,” and he said, “It helps to have you as my friend.” I thought, “Damn, I have to pretend to be his friend [and] Then perhaps, he will repair any damage done to my career.”

After that conversation, Natasia M. believed Weinstein blacklisted him, so she told the jury that she thought it would be smart to stay in touch with Weinstein for job purposes. She ended up seeing Weinstein several times, mostly at her request, when she would call him to request business meetings with her friends, as a favor. She made arrangements to meet Weinstein at AFI Fest in Los Angeles with one of her producer friends, which she said led to Weinstein asking him back to the Montague Hotel where she agreed to watch him shower. In New York City, she had scheduled a meeting with Weinstein and a friend who wanted to discuss merging his relationships with celebrities for charity, and Natasia M. told the jury that business dinner turned into Weinstein guiding her upstairs to his office and groping and masturbating. in front of her.

During cross-examination, Wensen’s defense showed an email where Natasia M. Weinstein had invited her to a 2011 Cannes Film Festival party where one of her friends was presenting a movie. She wrote, “The movie has Oscar written on it” and signed the email, “I love you, Harvey.”

Weinstein’s attorney constantly asked Natasia M. why she kept in touch with Weinstein, stating that she wanted to use his power for her own benefit. She said she just wanted to help her friends, and she never expected Weinstein to abuse her over and over again. She said, “Usually when people ask me to help them, I say ‘yes.'” Weinstein’s attorney Werksman responded, “But you’re asking for help from someone who raped you.”

“This is the fourth time you’ve tracked down some assistants against your will?” Follow Werksman.

Natasia M. replied: “Against my innermost desires. And yes… when you meet Mr. Weinstein, you hope things get better.” Turning to another alleged encounter, Werksman sarcastically asked, “Is there where you said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve put me in this situation now for the fifth time, so I’m out of here?'” “

In an effort to prove that Natasia M. knew what she was getting into when she saw Weinstein, his attorney looked at her on the stand and said, “You have to do what you have to do to get ahead in Hollywood.”

After the court day, Gloria Allred, who represents Natasia M., released a statement to the diverseapplause for her client.

“She testified that she told Harvey Weinstein she didn’t do the ‘couch chubby,’ but despite telling him that, he raped her and engaged in other unwelcome sexual behavior with her,” Allred said in part. “She was on the witness stand for most of the day, and was subjected to swift and intense cross-examination by the defense. Despite numerous attempts by Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys to discredit her and undermine her testimony, she stood her ground and told her the truth. I was very proud of her and the courage she showed, as she testified Today she testified in the People v. Harvey Weinstein trial.”



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