One of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers who will testify in his rape and sexual assault trial, which started on Monday, is Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an actor and documentary director who is also the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The veteran film producer, 70, was previously found guilty in New York of rape and other sex offences. After being accused of acts that contributed to the #MeToo Movement in Hollywood, he will now stand trial in Los Angeles on comparable counts.
Five women have accused Weinstein of attacking them between 2004 and 2013 at upscale hotels, and jury selection for the rape and other sex-related counts began on Monday.
As well as numerous more women whose allegations are not included in the criminal proceedings, all five of Weinstein’s accusers are anticipated to testify. They must, however, discuss Weinstein’s prior actions.
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Who Is Harvey Weinstein?
American film mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has won an Academy Award, has come under fire from numerous women for allegedly assaulting them sexually.
In Queens, New York, he was born on March 19, 1952. His mother was a homemaker, his father worked as a diamond cutter, and his family was Jewish with Polish ancestry.
Harvey and his brother Robert (Bob) were reared in the Electchester neighbourhood, a well-known public housing complex. Together with his brother Bob, he co-founded the entertainment business Miramax, which went on to produce a number of commercially successful indie movies like “Pulp Fiction,” “Clerks,” “The Crying Game,” and “Sex, Lies, and Videotape.”
Due to this, they were able to attract a lot of attention and work out a deal with the Walt Disney Company. For directing the film “Shakespeare in Love,” he received an Academy Award in 1998.
Later, the two brothers established The Weinstein Company, which went on to create a number of critically and financially successful films, including “The Reader,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Artist,” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”
In October 2017, Weinstein was charged with sexually harassing or assaulting numerous famous actresses, models, and workers at his two businesses. While his defenders have insisted that none of the accusations are true, other victims have come forward to support the rumours. He was subsequently removed from his position as co-chairman of his own business.
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Sexual Assault Allegations On Harvey Weinstein
- Meryl Streep, an actress, applauded all the women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including actress Ashley Judd, who made a similar allegation almost two decades ago. Streep clarified her controversial remark at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards ceremony in which she referred to Weinstein as “God” and added that she was unaware of the charges or of his sex depravities.
- Actress Gwyneth Paltrow shared her experience of Harvey Weinstein’s attempted sexual assault. Brad Pitt, who was her ex at the time, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon all support her narrative.
- After that, many other actors, including Angelina Jolie, Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Heather Graham, Cara Delevingne, Annabella Sciorra, and many more, started to share their stories.
- Georgina Chapman, a Marchesa designer, was Harvey Weinstein’s wife. She left him with their children in tow after expressing her sympathies to the accusations.
- Harvey Weinstein was accused of raping actress Rose McGowan, who came forward.
- Weinstein’s lifetime membership was terminated by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which also features Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Whoopi Goldberg.
- Michelle Franklin and Sandeep Rehal, two of Weinstein’s former employees, have spoken out about how they were made to get erectile dysfunction injections for the penile and transport them to hotels before meetings with his well-known victims.
- It has been claimed by numerous victims that Miramax, The Weinstein Company, and Amazon Studios were aware of Weinstein’s actions but did nothing to stop him.
- The actress Ashley Judd filed a lawsuit against Weinstein in 2018 alleging sexual harassment, slander, intentional interference with one’s ability to gain an advantage over others, and unfair competition. She believes that because she was one of the first to accuse Weinstein, he disqualified her from a part in The Lord of the Rings series. However, director Peter Jackson admits that he was given inaccurate information about Judd, which is why he passed on her.
- After turning himself in to the local police in May 2018, Harvey Weinstein was legally charged with rape and sexual assault in New York. Following that, he entered a not guilty plea in June 2018.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom To Testify In Harvey Weinstein Trial
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, will be one of the women who testifies at Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles sex crimes trial, according to her attorney. Jury selection for the trial of the 70-year-old former movie mogul, who is already serving a 23-year term for rape and sexual assault in New York, began on Monday.
The Los Angeles Times stated that the first lady of California and five other Weinstein victims would testify in LA. In a statement, Siebel Newsom’s lawyer, Elizabeth Fegan, claimed that her client, like many other women, had been sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein at a meeting that was actually a trap.
“As part of her life’s commitment to improve the lives of women, she intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some degree of justice for survivors. Please respect her decision to keep this subject confidential outside of court.” Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, will testify at Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes trial in Los Angeles.
According to the newspaper’s sources, court documents refer to WireImage Siebel Newsom as Jane Doe #4. In court papers, Jane Doe #4 said that Weinstein had raped her sometime between September 2004 and September 2005.
At the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017, Siebel Newsom accused Weinstein of abuse in a Huffington Post post, but she omitted specifics of the alleged assault. With regard to the five women, Weinstein was charged with four charges of rape and seven additional counts of sexual assault. He has pled not guilty.
Weinstein appeared fragile and wheelchair-bound on Monday during the first day of jury selection. 67 potential jurors were waiting for instructions as he was carried into the court wearing a dark blue suit and a light blue tie.
Judge Lisa Lench informed the prospective jurors that she anticipated the trial would last eight weeks. She informed them that she is unsure if Weinstein will testify, but that he has entered a plea of not guilty, and it is the prosecution’s responsibility to persuade the jury otherwise.
Judge Lench also issued a strong warning to the prospective jurors, instructing them to maintain their objectivity and abstain from news sources and social media for the course of the trial. “You will need to exercise caution since I anticipate that this case will receive some media coverage.”
No social media, including Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, should be used in connection with this case or your potential jury duty, she emphasised. The allegations against Weinstein come from allegedly occurring between 2004 and 2013, including a number of events that prosecutors claim took place during a crucial Oscars week in Los Angeles.
Four more women will be permitted to testify at the trial in addition to the five Jane Does to describe sexual assaults by Weinstein that were not reported to the police. This is done in an effort by the prosecution to convince the jury that Weinstein has a history of committing such crimes. In contrast to his New York trial, only twelve journalists will be permitted to cover his LA trial.
At a pre-trial hearing, Mr. Weinstein’s attorney Mark Werksman stated: “We’re trying to do everything we can to avoid having a trial when there will be a swirl of adverse publicity toward him. Mr. Weinstein’s notoriety and his place in our culture at the centre of the firestorm that is the #MeToo movement are real.
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