NEW YORK — As Hollywood recovered from a long night at the Oscars, former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein arrived in court on Monday for the start of another week of his sex-crimes trial focused on his defense team's effort to cast doubt on accusers' allegations.
Brazilian actress Talita Maia, a friend of accuser Jessica Mann who testified earlier that Weinstein raped her in a midtown Manhattan hotel room in March 2013, took the stand to testify about what Maia witnessed during encounters between Weinstein and Mann. Mann is one of two women whose allegations form the basis of the sex-crimes charges against Weistein.
Maia, 34, said she met Weinstein at a Hollywood party in 2012 or 2013 and introduced him to Mann, who put her arm around him, pinched his cheek and remarked that he was "so cute," Maia said.
In February 2013, after an Oscars party, she drove Mann to the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills. She denied under questioning from Donna Rotunno that she urged Mann to meet Weinstein at the hotel, as Mann earlier testified. Maia said she went with Mann to Weinstein's suite but was reluctant.
"I was just uncomfortable. I didn’t want to go up to a room with them, I didn’t know what they were going to do," she said. "I knew Jessica was already seeing him."
Although it was "really awkward" to be left in the living room while Weinstein and Mann disappeared into another room, she said she had "no reason to think there was going to be any harm."
She said she saw no arguing or negotiation between Weinstein and Mann, nor did Mann seem upset later. Mann testified earlier that Weinstein assaulted her at the Montage while Maia was in the living room watching TV.
Did Mann maintain a relationship with Weinstein after that? "Yes," Maia responded.
In March 2013, she met Mann and Weinstein at the DoubleTree Hotel in Manhattan for breakfast. She went up to Mann's room with her before she checked out. According to Mann, Weinstein raped her in his room at the hotel earlier that morning.
"Did she say anything bad had happened with Harvey earlier that morning?" Rotunno asked. "I don’t recall," Maia said.
"Did she seem upset at all?" Rotunno asked. "No," Maia said.
Maia said she was Mann's roommate for about six months in Los Angeles and stayed friends until 2016 or 2017, when they had a falling out.
"Did she ever tell you that Harvey Weinstein hurt her? That he raped her? Forced her to do anything against her will?" Rotunno asked.
"No, she always spoke highly of him. She seemed to really like him as a person," Maia said.
Under cross-examination by Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi, Mann denied she disliked Mann.
"Jessica did things in my life that impacted my life in a negative way, but I don’t hate her, " she said.
Maia said Mann several times described Weinstein as "like her spiritual soulmate."
"Did she ever say she was romantically interested in Harvey Weinstein?" Illuzzi asked.
"It seemed like it. She was always going to see him," Maia said.
But Mann was once "very upset" during a phone conversation when she told Maia that Weinstein wanted her to "do something" with another woman, an Italian actress, Maia said. She said she met the woman that day.
"You have to understand the context. Jessica was curious about girls," Maia testified. "When she met (the Italian actress), she said she was gorgeous, and from what I understand, she panicked and just couldn’t go through. It never seemed like it had anything to do with Harvey."
Mexican actress Claudia Salinas, 38, also is expected to take the stand for the defense. According to accuser Lauren Young, who testified last week for the prosecution, Salinas was described as an enabler to Weinstein's alleged sexual assault of Young in a Beverly Hills hotel bathroom in February 2013.
Young said Weinstein led her into the bathroom and Salinas closed the door, leaving her feeling "trapped" by the former movie mogul, who allegedly fondled her while masturbating. And Salinas was standing outside the door when Young fled the bathroom.
Young testified she believed Salinas helped set up the encounter: "She put me in here," she told the jury. Young said she said she shot Salinas “an evil look" after leaving the bathroom, and left the hotel suite without saying anything.
Salinas, who was in a 2009 Weinstein-produced film “Crossing Over” with Harrison Ford, is expected to testify about her version of what happened in that hotel.
Weinstein lawyer Damon Cheronis said Monday in court the defense is planning to rest its case Tuesday. Closing arguments could begin by the end of the week.
Weinstein’s lawyers have said they also plan to call another friend of accuser Mann, a Hollywood talent agent also was on the March 2013 trip to New York where she alleges Weinstein raped her at a midtown Manhattan hotel.
Weinstein's Miramax and The Weinstein Co. used to rule during Oscars season. The former studio head and his companies garnered 341 Oscar nominations and 81 wins via films such as "The King's Speech," "The Artist" and "Shakespeare in Love," all of which won best picture.
Weinstein was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board in October 2017 as scores of women (more than 80 in eventual total) began coming forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct, ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault to rape, in encounters dating back decades and in multiple states and countries.
The former producer's team of defense lawyers continued to present their case Monday, resuming with witnesses they think can help secure a not guilty verdict for Weinstein, facing five sex crimes charges including rape and assault.
On Friday, the defense called Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist and professor at the University of California at Irvine whose specialty is research on the fallibility of human memory. Recently, Loftus was an expert consultant on the defense team for Bill Cosby, who was convicted of sex crimes in 2018 after two trials in Pennsylvania.
She testified that human memory weakens over time – even as little as five years – and becomes more susceptible to "rich false memories" that feel as strong as "true" memories.
Last week on Thursday, the prosecution rested its case against the 67-year-old. He has pleaded not guilty and denies all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jessica Mann never said Weinstein raped her, called him 'spiritual soulmate,' witness says