Documentary filmmaker testifies in Weinstein trial

Documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, burst into tears when asked to identify Harvey Weinstein minutes after testifying in court.

Ms. Siebel Newsom took the witness stand in a Los Angeles courtroom for 15 minutes before the lunch break, becoming the fourth woman accused of sexual assault by Weinstein to testify in the former movie mogul’s trial.

Asked by a prosecutor if she had seen the man she met at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival in court, she fell silent, then burst into tears before managing to whisper “yes” into the microphone.

Asked to formally describe Weinstein, she looked at the defense bench where the 70-year-old was sitting and continued to cry: “He’s wearing a suit and a blue tie, and he’s staring at me.”

The 48-year-old was “a clueless actor trying to make it in Hollywood” in 2005 when Weinstein allegedly raped her at what she thought was a meeting at a Beverly Hills hotel to discuss her career, the deputy said. District Attorney Paul Thompson said in opening statements for the trial.

Weinstein’s lawyers said the two had consensual sex and that she was trying to use the powerful producer to advance her career.

Describing their first meeting, Ms. Siebel Newsom said she was an actress and producer who had a few small roles in September 2005 when she went to a film festival with a group of entertainment friends.

She said the crowd in the hotel lobby area seemed to break up as he approached her.

“It feels like the Red Sea is parting,” Ms Siebel Newsom said.

“I don’t know if it’s respect or fear.”

She said Weinstein was at the height of his Hollywood influence at the time and was a “kingmaker” to those present.

“I feel a little scared,” Ms. Siebel Newsom said.

“He’s charming. He treats me initially like he’s really curious about me. Maybe flattered is how I feel?”

She and a friend later met him in a hotel bar.

“I find it a real interest to talk about my work,” Ms. Siebel Newsom said.

Ms. Siebel Newsom, known at trial as Jane Doe #4, was not named in court, like others accused of rape or sexual assault by Weinstein.

But during the trial, both the prosecution and defense identified her as the governor’s wife, and Ms. Siebel Newsom’s attorney confirmed to The Associated Press and other news outlets that she was Jane Doe #4.

The AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly.

Since becoming a magnet for the #MeToo movement in 2017, Weinstein has had a number of prominent accusers, including A-list actors.

But none of the women who told their stories at the trial was more famous than Ms. Siebel Newsom. white house.

“She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for the survivors as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women,” her attorney, Elizabeth Fagan, said in a statement as the trial began Say.

Weinstein attorney Mark Waxman told jurors in opening statements that Ms. Siebel Newsom was “a very distinguished citizen of California” who made herself “a remarkable victim of the #MeToo movement.”

“Otherwise,” Mr. Waxman said, “she’s just another slut who slept with Harvey Weinstein in order to get ahead in Hollywood.”

Spaceballs and Melrose Place star Daphne Zuniga testified last week on behalf of her friend, Ms. Siebel Newsom, at the trial.

Ms. Zuniga said she and Ms. Siebel Newsom were hiking when she told her she was meeting with Harvey Weinstein.

When asked how it was going, Ms Zuniga said Ms Siebel Newsom told her “no, I don’t want to talk about it”.

“I’ve always known her to be positive, upbeat, looking you right in the eye and full of lovely energy,” Ms Zuniga said, but here “she seemed distraught, restless, agitated”.

In a pattern described by many of the other Weinstein accusers, Ms. Siebel Newsom expected they would meet with other people in public, but found herself alone with him in his suite, prosecutors said.

Judge Lisa Lench allowed the defense to use an email Ms. Siebel Newsom sent to Weinstein in 2007, asking him to help deal with the media surrounding the scandal surrounding her husband, who was then the mayor of San Francisco.

Weinstein, who has served 23 years in New York, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and seven counts of sexual assault involving five women.

He denies having engaged in non-consensual sex.