‘I Didn’t Take My Clothes Off,’ Emotional Witness Screams at Harvey Weinstein From Stand, Runs Weeping From Courtroom

One of the three accusers in Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial broke down in tears and cursed in an emotional and contentious cross-examination on Friday.“I didn’t take my clothes off. He was the one who raped me, not the other way around,” Miriam Haley shouted from the witness stand.“That is for the jury to decide,” one of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers Jennifer Bonjean, replied.“Don’t tell me I wasn’t raped by that f–ing a–hole!” Ms. Haley blurted out, breaking into tears.The judge quickly halted questioning and called for a break. As Ms. Haley left the witness stand, she almost tumbled into the defense table and rushed out of court through a side door.Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court as his retrial continues at Manhattan criminal court on May 2, 2025. John Angelillo-Pool/Getty ImagesCourt resumed after about a 10-minute break and Ms. Haley, 48, returned to the stand for more defense questioning. It is the second day of cross-examination after she took the stand for the prosecution on Tuesday.Ms. Bonjean asked Ms. Haley, again, how the clothes had come off, who had taken them off, she or Mr. Weinstein. “The defendant took off whatever was there,” Ms. Haley replied. “Did he remove your clothes when you were standing?” Ms. Bonjean asked. “At some point my clothes were off … he was forcing himself on my … vagina,” Ms. Haley testified. “You testified that you were pushed into a dark bedroom?” Ms. Bonjean continued. Miriam Haley, left, returns to the courtroom before continuing to testify in the retrial of former film producer Harvey Weinstein at Manhattan criminal court on May 2, 2025. John Angelillo-Pool/Getty Images“There was just light coming from the outside of the bedroom,” Ms. Haley said.“It’s your testimony that he stood up and maneuvered you back into the bedroom?” the defense lawye continued.Ms. Haley replied, “He was insisting and grabbing me. I was trying to walk away. He was basically trying to insist on all these advances. He was grabbing me, holding me.” “Are you saying he chased you down? Or he gave you a bear hug and pushed you?” Ms. Bonjean pressed.Ms. Haley, who is not a native English speaker, was visibly relieved that the defense attorney had provided her with the description she had been looking for: bear hug. Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court as his retrial continues at Manhattan criminal court on May 2, 2025. Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images“Exactly. And I had to tell him, ‘I am on my period, it’s truly not gonna happen.’ He didn’t really negotiate me into the bedroom. He pushed me into the bedroom,” Ms. Haley responded. When asked specifically what he did once he allegedly forced her onto the bed, Ms. Haley could not remember the specifics but did remember, “Then I realized, this is rape.”Ms. Bonjean shot back at her: “So what were you so confused about for the next three years?” She was referring to the fact Ms. Haley had not spoken out about the alleged rape and continued to be in contact with Ms. Weinstein for years after the encounter.“What I am asking you is a very simple question. Did he ever get off the bed when he had his face between your legs? Do you recall that? Do you recall how he was positioned?” Ms. Bonjean asked.Ms. Haley said she could not remember.The questioning was stopped for a lunch break.Ms. Haley is one of three women accusing Mr. Weinstein of sexual offenses.This was the second time Mr. Weinstein has listened to her testimony in a courtroom. In 2020, during his first trial, the jury convicted him of rape in the third degree and of committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, against Ms. Haley. The judge sentenced him to 23 years in prison.Defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean attends the retrial of former film producer Harvey Weinstein at Manhattan criminal court on May 2, 2025. Jefferson Siegel-Pool/Getty ImagesBut last year, New York’s highest court, the court of appeals, overturned his 2020 conviction and ordered a new trial. The court found that the trial judge had incorrectly permitted damaging testimony by women who were not part of the indictment, including a “Sopranos” star, Annabella Sciorra, and thus prejudiced the jury.Mr. Weinstein also faces a rape charge related to a claim from a former aspiring actress, Jessica Mann, who alleges she was raped by Mr. Weinstein in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel and also testified in 2020. And with Ms. Sciorra and her emotional story no longer a factor, the state has added a new charge — and a new accuser — for the retrial. A former model and actress, Kaja Sokola, alleged that he forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. Mr. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

‘I Didn’t Take My Clothes Off,’ Emotional Witness Screams at Harvey Weinstein From Stand, Runs Weeping From Courtroom

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