Actor describes ‘monster’ Harvey Weinstein cornering her in hotel

A Los Angeles actor testified against Harvey Weinstein on Monday and narrated the harrowing story of how she was cornered by the Hollywood producer and sexually assaulted in a hotel bathroom.

The actor, identified in court as Jane Doe 2, told jurors in an LA superior court that in February 2013, she was invited to the Montague Hotel in Beverly Hills by Mexican model and actress Claudia Salinas to talk to Weinstein about work opportunities.

The actor said she was locked inside a bathroom by the model along with the Hollywood producer [and now convicted rapist] who immediately “took off his clothes”.

She told the jurors: “I was disgusted. I had never seen a big guy like that naked. I actually laughed nervously and thought, ‘No, no, no.’”

The actor, who described Weinstein as a “monster”, was 23 at the time of the sexual assault.

Weinstein’s second trial on rape and sexual assault charges began in Los Angeles on 10 October. He faces 11 charges, involving five alleged victims, which carry a maximum of 140 years. The trial is expected to take six to eight weeks.

On 21 October, a jury was selected for the trial.

Jane Doe 2 said that her pleas for Weinstein to stop were ignored and that he groped her breasts and masturbated. She recalled being “frozen in fear” during the assault even as Weinstein talked about “movie stuff”.

The actor did not let Weinstein touch her vagina and the disgraced Hollywood producer ejaculated on a towel and then promptly left the bathroom.

The actor said that Weinstein was “really hairy and there was moles on his body”.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including rape, in his second-crimes trial.

Prosecutors allege that between 2003 and 2013, Weinstein sexually assaulted five Los Angeles women. At least eight women — including Jane Doe 2 — are set to testify against Weinstein.

Defence lawyers have said that the women who have accused Weinstein of rape had “transactional sex” with the Hollywood mogul and are changing their version of events out of embarrassment.

Earlier, Jane Doe 2 told the jurors that she was scared that Weinstein “would hurt me, or send someone to hurt me, or ruin my career, or make my life hell”. She even said that she believed “he could have me killed”.

“I didn’t know what he was capable of,” she added.

The actor had met Weinstein at an Oscars party in February 2012, shortly after she had moved to Los Angeles to work as a model and actress.

Recalling the time when Salinas called her for a meeting with Weinstein, she said: “I thought that it was really exciting for me, because somebody of such importance in the film industry was taking an interest in my script.”

“Everything happened so fast,” she said of the sexual assault. “I was very numb. I felt like I was outside of my body watching what was happening, I couldn’t move. I was frozen. I was so scared.”