Weinstein’s lawyer slammed for asking Newsom’s wife to fake showing ‘pleasure’
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer may have gone too far in his aggressive efforts to discredit Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s testimony, especially when he asked the wife of California Gov. Newsom Tuesday to show how she faked an orgasm in order to get the producer away from her after, she says, he raped her.
According to reports of her testimony in Weinstein’s sex-crimes trial in Los Angeles, Siebel Newsom looked “visibly appalled” when defense attorney Mark Werksman “stunningly” asked her how she “indicated her pleasure” during the alleged rape at a Beverly Hills hotel in September 2005. Siebel Newsom testified that Weinstein assaulted her during what was supposed to be a business meeting.
In response to Werksman’s suggestion that she showed “pleasure,” Siebel Newsom also looked “annoyed” and “horrified,” according to the New York Post and TMZ. She retorted, “This is not ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ I’m not doing that.” She was referring to a scene in the 1989 movie in which Meg Ryan’s character loudly faked a climax in a busy New York restaurant. Siebel Newsom also said, “I did not indicate my pleasure.”
Siebel Newsom wasn’t the only person horrified by Werksman’s aggressive cross-examination. People on social media Wednesday expressed the belief that the attorney definitely crossed the line when he grilled California’s first partner about the incident.
“Do you understand the paradox of trying to stop a rapist by faking an orgasm?” Werksman asked, according to the Daily Beast.
“Unreal,” tweeted Carla Marinucci, a writer for Politico and former political reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, sharing a link to a New York Post story about this particular line of questioning. In response to this tweet, people wrote, “Sick,” “What the (expletive)?” and “Defense just lost every woman on the jury.”
Unreal: @JenSiebelNewsom, wife to California gov, asked to fake an orgasm in court during Harvey Weinstein trial by Weinstein’s lawyer.
An upset Siebel Newsom retorted: “This is not ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ I’m not doing that.” https://t.co/q1jziweVNb via @nypost— Carla ‘Bluechecked’ Marinucci (@cmarinucci) November 16, 2022
Others on social media voiced their support for Siebel Newsom, including actor Mira Sorvino, who was one of the first women who came forward in 2017 to accuse Weinstein of sexually harassing her in the 1990s. In an interview this year, Sorvino said she later learned that the once-powerful independent film producer used his connections with top Hollywood directors to get her blacklisted from their films.
COURAGE!!!! Thank you Jennifer Siebel Newsom!! In Tearful Testimony, Jennifer Siebel Newsom Alleges Harvey Weinstein Raped Her: ‘This Is My Worst Nightmare’ – Variety https://t.co/fQJ9S4z5g7
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) November 15, 2022
Siebel Newsom, referred to as Jane Doe No. 4 in court filings, is one of several women testifying against Weinstein in his second trial, where the convicted rapist faces seven new criminal charges, the Daily Beast reported. On Monday, Siebel Newsom testified about how the producer invited her to his room at the Peninsula Hotel in September 2005, under the guise of offering to help her with her career as an actor and documentary film producer.
Weinstein’s lawyers have denied that the former head of Miramax studios assaulted any of the five women accusing him in the Los Angeles trial. They argue that the alleged incidents, between 2004 and 2013, either did not happen or were consensual encounters in which the women exchanged sex for professional opportunities.
During his opening statement, Werksman signaled that he would be aggressive with the alleged victims, the Daily Beast said. With Siebel Newsom in particular, the attorney said that without her status as Newsom’s wife, she would amount to “just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead.”
Siebel Newsom characterized her encounter with Weinstein as anything but consensual. She testified that her expected business meeting with Weinstein in his room at the Peninsula Hotel turned into something ugly, when he changed out of his suit into a robe, according to reports from the New York Post and Daily Beast. She said he began to touch himself, “threaten” her and engage in a brutal “cat-and-mouse” game during which he assaulted her orally and with his “fish-like” penis. The whole assault, Siebel Newsom said, made her feel like “this blow-up doll that he’s just trying to masturbate off of.”
The Daily Beast also reported that Siebel Newsom broke down several times during her testimony but seemed to “hold her own” as Weinstein’s lawyer subjected her to a series of rapid-fire questions. Werksman pressed her on why she didn’t go into details about the alleged attack, when she first spoke to authorities two years ago, and why she stayed in contact with Weinstein after the alleged rape, including sending him emails soliciting support for Newsom’s mayoral campaign in San Francisco, the New York Post said.
Werksman also seemed to focus on Siebel Newsom’s account of faking an orgasm to get away from Weinstein. Siebel admitted that she made “noises” to get him to finish. Through tears, she said, “He had already raped me. … This is so gross. I’m sorry.”
At another point, Werksman repeatedly asked her to define the word “acquiesce” and then questioned whether she was “too tired to testify,” the Daily Beast reported. Siebel Newsom shot back: “What you’re doing today is exactly what he did to me.”
Before stepping off the stand Tuesday, Siebel Newsom tearfully shouted that she did everything she could in that hotel room to stop Weinstein from assaulting her, the Daily Beast said. “I did with my voice and with my body. … I did by slamming my legs together,” she said, according to the Daily Beast. “I tried to get out of there, I tried, I tried so hard.”
Prosecutors have alleged that Weinstein used his power and prestige in Hollywood to lure and assault the woman and to make them believe he would ruin their careers if they reported him to police or otherwise spoke out.
Some of Weinstein’s nearly 90 accusers have described in news reports and in court testimony that they stayed in contact with him professionally. Since the start of the #MeToo movement, which was spurred in 2017 by the initial allegations made against against Weinstein, advocates for sexual assault survivors have described the power dynamics in which women feel compelled to interact with their rapists to continue doing their jobs.
When Siebel Newsom was asked by Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez to explain why she stayed in the hotel suite with Weinstein when he showed his intentions weren’t professional, she said, “Because you don’t say no to Harvey Weinstein. He could make or ruin your career.” She said that fear also led her to stay silent, even as she continued to encounter Weinstein professionally.
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer may have gone too far in his aggressive efforts to discredit Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s testimony, especially when he asked the wife of California Gov. Newsom Tuesday to show how she faked an orgasm in order to get the producer away from her after, she says, he raped her.
According to reports of her testimony in Weinstein’s sex-crimes trial in Los Angeles, Siebel Newsom looked “visibly appalled” when defense attorney Mark Werksman “stunningly” asked her how she “indicated her pleasure” during the alleged rape at a Beverly Hills hotel in September 2005. Siebel Newsom testified that Weinstein assaulted her during what was supposed to be a business meeting.
In response to Werksman’s suggestion that she showed “pleasure,” Siebel Newsom also looked “annoyed” and “horrified,” according to the New York Post and TMZ. She retorted, “This is not ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ I’m not doing that.” She was referring to a scene in the 1989 movie in which Meg Ryan’s character loudly faked a climax in a busy New York restaurant. Siebel Newsom also said, “I did not indicate my pleasure.”
Siebel Newsom wasn’t the only person horrified by Werksman’s aggressive cross-examination. People on social media Wednesday expressed the belief that the attorney definitely crossed the line when he grilled California’s first partner about the incident.
“Do you understand the paradox of trying to stop a rapist by faking an orgasm?” Werksman asked, according to the Daily Beast.
“Unreal,” tweeted Carla Marinucci, a writer for Politico and former political reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, sharing a link to a New York Post story about this particular line of questioning. In response to this tweet, people wrote, “Sick,” “What the (expletive)?” and “Defense just lost every woman on the jury.”
Unreal: @JenSiebelNewsom, wife to California gov, asked to fake an orgasm in court during Harvey Weinstein trial by Weinstein’s lawyer.
An upset Siebel Newsom retorted: “This is not ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ I’m not doing that.” https://t.co/q1jziweVNb via @nypost— Carla ‘Bluechecked’ Marinucci (@cmarinucci) November 16, 2022
Others on social media voiced their support for Siebel Newsom, including actor Mira Sorvino, who was one of the first women who came forward in 2017 to accuse Weinstein of sexually harassing her in the 1990s. In an interview this year, Sorvino said she later learned that the once-powerful independent film producer used his connections with top Hollywood directors to get her blacklisted from their films.
COURAGE!!!! Thank you Jennifer Siebel Newsom!! In Tearful Testimony, Jennifer Siebel Newsom Alleges Harvey Weinstein Raped Her: ‘This Is My Worst Nightmare’ – Variety https://t.co/fQJ9S4z5g7
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) November 15, 2022
Siebel Newsom, referred to as Jane Doe No. 4 in court filings, is one of several women testifying against Weinstein in his second trial, where the convicted rapist faces seven new criminal charges, the Daily Beast reported. On Monday, Siebel Newsom testified about how the producer invited her to his room at the Peninsula Hotel in September 2005, under the guise of offering to help her with her career as an actor and documentary film producer.
Weinstein’s lawyers have denied that the former head of Miramax studios assaulted any of the five women accusing him in the Los Angeles trial. They argue that the alleged incidents, between 2004 and 2013, either did not happen or were consensual encounters in which the women exchanged sex for professional opportunities.
During his opening statement, Werksman signaled that he would be aggressive with the alleged victims, the Daily Beast said. With Siebel Newsom in particular, the attorney said that without her status as Newsom’s wife, she would amount to “just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead.”
Siebel Newsom characterized her encounter with Weinstein as anything but consensual. She testified that her expected business meeting with Weinstein in his room at the Peninsula Hotel turned into something ugly, when he changed out of his suit into a robe, according to reports from the New York Post and Daily Beast. She said he began to touch himself, “threaten” her and engage in a brutal “cat-and-mouse” game during which he assaulted her orally and with his “fish-like” penis. The whole assault, Siebel Newsom said, made her feel like “this blow-up doll that he’s just trying to masturbate off of.”
The Daily Beast also reported that Siebel Newsom broke down several times during her testimony but seemed to “hold her own” as Weinstein’s lawyer subjected her to a series of rapid-fire questions. Werksman pressed her on why she didn’t go into details about the alleged attack, when she first spoke to authorities two years ago, and why she stayed in contact with Weinstein after the alleged rape, including sending him emails soliciting support for Newsom’s mayoral campaign in San Francisco, the New York Post said.
Werksman also seemed to focus on Siebel Newsom’s account of faking an orgasm to get away from Weinstein. Siebel admitted that she made “noises” to get him to finish. Through tears, she said, “He had already raped me. … This is so gross. I’m sorry.”
At another point, Werksman repeatedly asked her to define the word “acquiesce” and then questioned whether she was “too tired to testify,” the Daily Beast reported. Siebel Newsom shot back: “What you’re doing today is exactly what he did to me.”
Before stepping off the stand Tuesday, Siebel Newsom tearfully shouted that she did everything she could in that hotel room to stop Weinstein from assaulting her, the Daily Beast said. “I did with my voice and with my body. … I did by slamming my legs together,” she said, according to the Daily Beast. “I tried to get out of there, I tried, I tried so hard.”
Prosecutors have alleged that Weinstein used his power and prestige in Hollywood to lure and assault the woman and to make them believe he would ruin their careers if they reported him to police or otherwise spoke out.
Some of Weinstein’s nearly 90 accusers have described in news reports and in court testimony that they stayed in contact with him professionally. Since the start of the #MeToo movement, which was spurred in 2017 by the initial allegations made against against Weinstein, advocates for sexual assault survivors have described the power dynamics in which women feel compelled to interact with their rapists to continue doing their jobs.
When Siebel Newsom was asked by Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez to explain why she stayed in the hotel suite with Weinstein when he showed his intentions weren’t professional, she said, “Because you don’t say no to Harvey Weinstein. He could make or ruin your career.” She said that fear also led her to stay silent, even as she continued to encounter Weinstein professionally.
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