Ex-cocktail waitress tells trial Weinstein raped her
A former cocktail waitress told Harvey Weinstein's sex assault trial
Wednesday that the ex-Hollywood mega-producer pinned her down and raped her in
his New York apartment in 2005.
Tarale Wulff, 43, said she was driven to Weinstein's home after turning up at his office for what she believed would be a meeting about a possible film role.
"He grabbed my arms, put me onto the bed and leaned over me," Wulff told the Manhattan court.
"I told him, 'I can't.' He told me, 'Don't worry, I can't have kids,'" added Wulff, now a model.
Weinstein, 67, faces life imprisonment if convicted of predatory assault charges related to actress Jessica Mann and former production assistant Mimi Haleyi.
Wulff is the second supporting witness to testify that Weinstein raped her after "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra told the jury Thursday that he forced himself on her in the early 90s.
Wulff was one of two women to take the stand on the sixth day of testimony in the high-profile proceedings symbolic to the #MeToo movement.
She said Weinstein had earlier masturbated in front of her after grabbing her arm and taken her to a secluded part of a plush Manhattan restaurant where she worked.
READ: Weinstein agrees to $25 million settlement with accusers
Defense attorney Donna Rotunno accused Wulff of changing the year of the alleged assault from 2004 to 2005 just a few months before the trial.
She also pointed out that Wulff had accepted the meeting with Weinstein despite the initial alleged sexual assault in the restaurant.
- 'Prior bad acts' -
Earlier, Dawn Dunning testified that Weinstein stuck his hand up her skirt and tried to penetrate her with his fingers during a hotel meeting to discuss possible film projects in 2005.
"I just kind of froze and stood up. He apologized and said it wouldn't happen again," she said.
Dunning, now 40, added that two weeks later Weinstein demanded a threesome with her in return for movie roles after she agreed to meet him in a hotel lobby.
A female assistant took her to a suite upstairs. There, wearing just a bathrobe, Weinstein said she could have the part if she had sex with him and his assistant.
"When I started laughing he started being really angry he said, 'You're never going to make it,'" said Dunning, adding that she stopped acting soon after.
The ex-Miramax boss said he had asked the same of Charlize Theron, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman, accuser Dawn Dunning told the New York state court.
There is no suggestion that any of the three actresses ever acquiesced to the alleged request.
Dunning and Wulff testified as "prior bad acts" witnesses to bolster the prosecution's case that Weinstein engaged in a pattern of predatory sexual behavior.
Arthur Aidala, for the defense, pointed out that -- like Wulff -- Dunning had agreed to meet Weinstein a second time despite the alleged assault at their previous meeting.
