Mann, 40, took the stand Tuesday as jurors watched in a New York courtroom while the former film producer—now 73 and serving time—faced another retrial over accusations tied to her account of what happened in 2013. Prosecutors presented her testimony as the latest attempt to persuade a new jury, while Weinstein’s lawyers prepared to challenge her account once they were able to question her, the Associated Press reported.
Mann described her relationship with Weinstein as one that started with professional attention and industry invitations, and she told jurors it later turned into what she described as an assault that ignored her repeated objections. She testified that she had been trained to expect sexual behavior from men and had believed that being in a relationship with Weinstein might make her feel better about it, even as she said his behavior sometimes left her feeling demeaned.
During her testimony, Mann recounted meeting Weinstein at a Los Angeles-area party in early 2013 and said subsequent get-togethers moved between professional advice, events in the entertainment world, and advances she described as making her uncomfortable even though she did not refuse them at the time. She also told jurors about an emotional “meltdown” she experienced in an episode that involved Weinstein and another woman.
Mann said Weinstein surprised her by arriving early in New York ahead of a planned breakfast, where she said she and Weinstein had been connected through her friend’s work trip. She told jurors that Weinstein took a room at her New York hotel, and that she went with him to the room to address the situation privately, according to her account and testimony a former front desk employee gave in earlier proceedings.
Mann told jurors that Weinstein told her to undress, she said she begged him not to, and that she tried to open the door but that Weinstein slammed it shut, grabbed her wrists, and held them crossed in front of her face. She testified about feeling “really scary,” saying she “shut down” because she had been “fighting and arguing,” and then she said she obeyed by undressing and lying on the bed.
After a trip to the bathroom, Mann said she later found a used syringe for an erectile-dysfunction drug, and that Weinstein returned and raped her, according to her testimony. She said she did not tell anyone at the time and instead went ahead with plans including breakfast, extended travel, a movie screening, and tea with Weinstein and his daughter.
Mann testified that she wanted “everyone to act like everything was normal” and described how she later continued what she characterized as consensual sexual encounters and friendly email exchanges with Weinstein. She said Weinstein helped her get hired at a hair salon, though she declined an envelope she believed contained $1,000 in cash because “It felt wrong,” she told jurors.
Mann told the jury that after she began dating someone she loved, she tried to stop sexual contact by emailing Weinstein that she needed to “respect the relationship.” She said Weinstein replied cordially, but that in person he became enraged when he learned about her boyfriend, telling her, “You owe me one more time!” before, she said, he raped her again in Beverly Hills, California—an allegation the court heard previously that she has described before.
The Associated Press also reported that Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is appealing sex-crime convictions tied to other women’s accusations. He was convicted in 2020 of raping Mann, the conviction was overturned, and in the last retrial a jury deadlocked, leaving Tuesday’s testimony as part of the ongoing effort to resolve Mann’s allegations in court.