A front desk clerk took the stand Wednesday to say he was concerned for Jessica Mann‘s safety when she checked into the DoubleTree Hotel in March of 2013. It coincides with the time Mann has said Weinstein raped her in his hotel room.
Mann is one of the two women on whom his rape case rests. Rothschild Capulong testified that he was so concerned, he made a note of the “discontent” between Weinstein and Mann in his end-of-shift report.
He said: “Mr. Weinstein was really imposing and looming over me. He was intimidating at some point.”
“I specifically wrote that security might want to check Mr. Weinstein at the room,” the witness said, due to “a safety reason for the female.”
Mann testified previously that she tried to escape, but that Weinstein slammed the door once they were upstairs, told her to undress and raped her. He talked her into coming to the hotel under the pretense of discussing a future role.
CASTING DIRECTOR TESTIFIES
Marci Liroff, a casting director on Vampire Academy, the film he mentioned to Mann, also testified, saying she auditioned Mann and another woman, but that she didn’t the role.
“They were too old,” said Liroff. “They were looking for a 15-year old. They were in their mid- to late 20s. They were too tall… The role called for an actor who is 5’2″ … And they were not strong enough as actors for this role.”
MODEL TESTIFIES
A model who claims that Weinstein assaulted her in a Beverly Hills Hotel and masturbated in front of her also took the stand Wednesday. Lauren Marie Young, 30, said she was asked to attend an Oscars dinner for Weinstein. She is the sixth and final accuser to testify against Weinstein accusing him of misconduct. She is one of three women called to testify as a “prior bad acts” witness, meaning her testimony isn’t connected to charges, but is instead meant to establish a pattern of behavior.
Young said: “I was excited. I got ready. I put on my best dress. I was excited to network and pitch my ideas.”
When he met her at the hotel, she said: “he sat down and he was on his phone. We started discussing what ideas we had and my script — and he said, “What about America’s Next Top Model. ‘No, I don’t want to be on reality TV.'”
Later, Weinstein said, “Let’s finish this conversation. Follow me upstairs. I have to get ready to present or accept an award with Quentin Tarantino.”
She said that he then ordered her into a bathroom in his hotel room, took off his clothes and masturbated while trying to pull off her dress. She said he ejaculated on the floor.
Weinstein denies wrongdoing. If convicted, he faces life in prison.