Jennifer Sybil Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and actress who is married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, is among Harvey Weinstein’s accusers who will testify in his rape and sexual assault trial that begins Monday. , his lawyer said.
“Like so many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in an alleged business meeting that turned out to be a trap,” Newsom’s attorney Elizabeth Fagan said in a statement. “She plans to testify at his trial to seek justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve women’s lives.”
Weinstein, the 70-year-old former movie mogul who is serving 23 years in prison after being convicted in New York, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving Newsom and four other women. All will testify as Jane Doe during the eight-week trial in a Los Angeles court, where jury selection began Monday.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, but Newsom agreed to be named through her attorney.
His involvement was first reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Newsom, 48, appeared in small roles in dozens of films and television shows between 2002 and 2011. He has recently directed documentaries including “The Great American Lie” in 2020 and “Fair Play” from this year. Both deal with gender in society.
She wrote about her experience with Weinstein in a 2017 article in the Huffington Post after New York Times and New Yorker stories made her a magnet for the #MeToo movement, but gave few details.
Weinstein, who is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail, was brought into the courtroom Monday in a wheelchair through a side door, and carefully climbed into a seat next to one of his lawyers at the defense table. He was wearing a blue suit, which he is allowed to change into prison garb during the trial.
He stood with the rest of the room as the first panel of 67 potential jurors was brought in, but sat down halfway through the process. When his lawyers introduced him, he gestured to them from his seat.
Judges were given a long questionnaire intended to screen those who needed to be dismissed. Both the questions and answers on the form are private, but previous hearings on its contents have revealed questions about how much media coverage they have seen of Weinstein, and whether they have formed an opinion from him, though The judge had dismissed questions on specific stories. and media outlets.
Prosecutors will be allowed to introduce it as part of evidence in Weinstein’s conviction for rape and sexual assault, where the state’s highest court has agreed to hear his appeal.
The questionnaire also included a question about a California law that says only the testimony of a sexual assault victim can be sufficient evidence to convict if a judge believes them.
Jurors were also given a long list of names of witnesses in the upcoming trial, including names of accusers to determine if they were related. There were more than 270 names on the initial witness list in the trial, though less than half are expected. Most of the potential witness lists have not been made public.
One witness, Barbara Schneeweiss, a producer for “Project Runway” and other television shows, was in court early Monday and was told by a judge that she was on call at any time.
Two more panels of 75 judges will be brought in on Tuesday and Wednesday. Questioning of individual jurors is not expected to begin until next week, and opening statements may not begin for two weeks.
The lawsuit comes five years after women’s stories about Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein has been charged with four counts of rape and seven other counts of sexual assault.
Most of the events in his indictment, such as Newsom, took place under the guise of business meetings at luxury hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, which Weinstein uses as his California headquarters and where he spends awards season and year. could be seen throughout. Four of those occurred during Oscars week 2013, when Weinstein was released. Silver Lining Story Money And Django is restless Will win Academy Awards.