New York, New York – Former actor Jessica Mann told Harvey Weinstein’s retrial Monday how the disgraced movie mogul flooded her with praise in the weeks before allegedly raping her in 2013 in a New York hotel room.
Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the #MeToo movement, is already in prison for other sex offenses, so he will remain behind bars regardless of the verdict of this trial.
It is the third time that Mann has taken the stand against Weinstein after a 2020 guilty verdict was overturned due to mishandling of witnesses, and a 2025 case ended in mistrial after a jury-room feud.
“I felt like he was a really nice person and he was offering to mentor me,” Mann, wearing a beige jacket over a white top, told a New York courthouse.
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She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actor and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
“He told me that I was prettier than Natalie Portman,” she said.
She added that Weinstein’s apparent interest in boosting her career, including buying her books on acting, initially seemed like a “miracle.”
The 40-year-old’s testimony – much of which echoed the 2020 and 2025 cases – was emotional, and she took occasional pauses as her voice broke.
Mann’s testimony will continue on Tuesday.
Weinstein, wearing a suit and seated in a wheelchair that he is bound to due to ill health, occasionally shook his head as Mann spoke.
Prosecutor Candace White told last week’s opening hearing how Weinstein “preyed upon a fragile and sheltered young woman.”
The defense is seeking to dismiss Mann’s rape allegation by painting her relationship with Weinstein as consensual.
The Oscar-winning Weinstein (74) is already serving a 16-year prison term in a California case for the rape of a European actor more than a decade ago. He is appealing that conviction.
