A former actor took the stand in Harvey Weinstein‘s rape trial Wednesday, saying he offered her jobs in exchange for a threesome, while claiming that he made similar arrangements with Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
The 67-year-old reportedly tried to make the deal during a 2004 meeting with accuser Dawn Denning. The encounter, like so many others, took place at a hotel in Manhattan.
“He opened the door and he was wearing an open white bathrobe … I saw his stomach,” Dunning told jurors in Manhattan Supreme Court about meeting the filmmaker at his hotel room.
“On the table, I noticed three stacks of paper. For some reason, the tone, something, just seemed different from when I had spent time with him in the past.”
He was not, she said, in the mood for chatting.
She explained: “He kind of cut to the chase and said, ‘Here’s the contracts for three films. I’ll sign them today if you have a threesome with me and my assistant. When he said that, I laughed and I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ He got really angry and started screaming at me. He was like, ‘You will never make it in this business, this is how this industry works.'”
He claimed that that’s how three A-listers got their big breaks.
“This is how — he named three actresses — how they got where they are … Charlize Theron, Salma Hayek and I believe Uma Thurman,” Dunning recalled. “I remember the first two for sure.”
Dunning managed to get away, and said the experience made her leave the industry.
She also described an on-set encounter with Weinstein.
She recalled: “I was wearing a skirt that day, and he put his hand up my skirt.”
Dunning continued: “His hand went under my underwear. He was trying to put it in my vagina … He just started talking really fast, ‘It’s not a big deal. Don’t make a big deal about this.’ He said it wouldn’t happen again.”
Weinstein faces five counts of rape and assault and life in prison if convicted. Weinstein has not been charged in the Dunning case, but her testimony is being permitted. He has pleaded not guilty.
THE ASSISTANT
Meanwhile, The Assistant, a film born from the Weinstein scandal, held a special screening hosted by Michelle Williams, Marielle Heller, Roxane Gay, Amber Tamblyn and Elaine Welteroth.
“Almost everything that’s in the movie has been recorded already in the news, but what I wanted was some kind of emotional insight,” director-writer-producer Kitty Green told The Hollywood Reporter. “Like, how it was for people to go through this and what it’s like to be in a position of the least power at a company like that? Or any kind of company that has those sort of problems or has a gender imbalance or is toxic in some way? That was the real proxy of my questions.”
The Assistant hits theaters January 31st.