Miriam Haley began to break down in tears on Wednesday as she told jurors about the moment she realized that Harvey Weinstein was about to sexually assault her.
“I just decided to check out and endure it,” she said.
The former TV production assistant is the first of three accusers to testify at Weinstein’s retrial in Manhattan. Recounting testimony she gave at his first trial five years ago, she alleged that Weinstein assaulted her at his SoHo apartment on July 10, 2006.
Prior to that visit, Weinstein had invited her to attend the “Clerks II” premiere in L.A., an invitation she accepted. He later asked her to stop by his apartment to meet, and she agreed — explaining that it felt awkward to refuse after having just accepted the invitation to the premiere.
Haley said that, after a driver sent by Weinstein dropped her off and led her to the hallway of the SoHo apartment, he left — and there was no one else inside. While she and Weinstein were sitting on a sofa, he suddenly “lunged” at her and tried to kiss her. She rejected him, but he persisted, “smothering me with advances.” Haley said that he used his body to push her toward a bed in a dark bedroom.
“He was grabbing me and touching me,” she said, adding that she was “trying to get him off me.”
However, Haley recounted that Weinstein repeatedly pushed her back onto the bed. As she struggled, she started to fear that he might become violent and that her chances of escaping were slim.
“I realized that I’m getting raped,” she thought in that moment.
According to Haley, she had mentioned to Weinstein that she was on her period and had a tampon in. “He took out my tampon and orally forced himself on me,” she continued.
Haley said she was “mortified” and “in disbelief” during the incident, and that she didn’t want anyone to place their mouth on her vagina, as she was “un-groomed and having her period.” “And certainly not him,” she noted, referring to Weinstein.
Haley later told her then-roommate, Elizabeth Entin, about what occurred at Weinstein’s apartment, and remembered Entin telling her “it sounds like rape.” Haley added, “I felt trapped in what to do about it.”
The following day, Haley did not attend the “Clerks II” premiere, explaining that she didn’t want to after the alleged assault. “I was still trying to navigate my own feelings and my options,” she said.
Haley first took the stand Tuesday and recounted first meeting Weinstein at the London premiere of “The Aviator” in 2004, where her friend, the late “Rocky Horror Picture Show” producer Michael White, introduced them. She said Weinstein joked that he would name his next company after her, later clarifying that his mother’s name was also Miriam. (Miramax is a combination of Weinstein’s parents’ names, Miriam and Max).
She also described several meetings with Weinstein prior to the alleged assault in 2006, including one that took place in a hotel room in France, after they reconnected at the Cannes Film Festival. Haley explained that she had hoped to discuss potential job opportunities in New York.
When asked earlier by the prosecutor whether she had any romantic or sexual interest in Weinstein, Haley responded, “No, I did not.”
However, instead of focusing on professional matters, Weinstein “quickly started talking about other things.” According to Haley, he commented on her legs and asked if she could give him a massage.
“I felt taken aback. I felt humiliated,” she said.
Despite rebuffing his advances, Haley did receive a job in 2006 as a production assistant on “Project Runway,” which Weinstein produced.
After the third season of the reality competition series wrapped, she met Weinstein to have a conversation in the lobby bar of a Manhattan hotel in late June — just weeks before the alleged sexual assault. During the conversation, they discussed her work as a production assistant on “Project Runway.” According to Haley, Weinstein offered to write a letter in support of extending her work visa, as she was not a U.S. citizen.
When the prosecutor asked whether Weinstein had done anything during that meeting to make her feel uncomfortable, Haley said no, describing him as “respectful” and “quite charming.” However, she asserted that she was not flirting with Weinstein, and the interaction did not take a romantic turn. “I was looking for work,” Haley said.
Weinstein is charged with committing a first-degree criminal sexual act against Haley. He has pleaded not guilty.
Haley’s attorney, Gloria Allred, sat in the court gallery on Tuesday to watch the testimony.
The disgraced movie mogul was convicted of sexually abusing Haley and another accuser, actor Jessica Mann, at his initial trial in 2020. Those convictions were later overturned.
Last Thursday, two women who were friends with Haley in 2006 — Elizabeth Entin and Christine Pressman — testified that Haley had confided in them shortly after the alleged assault by Weinstein.
“He raped my friend, and I am not happy about that,” Entin said at one point while being cross-examined by the defense.
Meanwhile, Pressman told the courtroom that, after hearing Haley’s story in August or September 2006, she advised Haley not to contact the authorities. “I said, ‘Harvey Weinstein is the king of New York. He’s extremely powerful; you are not. Just let it go.’”
In addition to the charge related to Haley, Weinstein faces another count of committing a first-degree criminal sexual act and one count of rape in the third degree. He pleaded not guilty to those charges as well.
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