Weinstein accuser Miriam Haley storms out of courtroom in tears: ‘Don’t tell me I wasn’t raped by that f---ing a–hole!’
Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes trial went off the rails Friday as one of his accusers stormed out of the courtroom in tears after snapping “Don’t tell me I wasn’t raped by that f–king a–hole!” during brutal questioning by his lawyer.
The Manhattan courtroom, filled with roughly 40 people, sat in stunned silence as former TV production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haley got off the witness stand and briskly walked out, wiping tears from her eyes and so flustered that she almost ran into the defense table where Weinstein was sitting.
The dramatic moment unfolded roughly 30 minutes into Haley’s second day of grilling by Weinstein defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean, who was probing her about her claims that the then-powerful Hollywood producer sexually assaulted her at his SoHo loft two decades ago.
Asked whether she’d undressed herself, Haley snapped, “I didn’t take my clothes off.”
“He was the one who raped me, not the other way around,” she said, prompting Bonjean to fire back, “That’s for the jury to decide.”
“No, it’s not for the jury to decide when it’s my experience and he did that to me,” Haley said during the escalating exchange.
“Don’t tell me I wasn’t raped by that f–king a–hole!” she said, breaking into tears as the shocked audience in the courtroom gallery looked on and Haley rushed out to the hallway.
The 78-year-old Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair next to his lawyers, didn’t turn around or visibly react during the tense moment.
He had watched Haley, 48, intently when she testified earlier this week about the moment she realized she was being “raped” by Weinstein at his apartment on July 10, 2006.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Farber called a short break so that Haley could compose herself after the outburst Friday.
Bonjean then continued pelting the former “Project Runway” staffer with rapid-fire and intrusive questions, in an attempt to poke holes in her testimony.
The exchanges between the two got so tense at moments that they raised their voices at each other — and the judge was forced to bang on his desk several times as he repeated that the women “refrain from the commentary.”
Bonjean seemed fixated on how the clothes came off of Haley’s lower body — since an admission she undressed herself would support the main defense argument that Weinstein’s sexual encounters with his accusers were all consensual.
But Haley didn’t back down, insisting: “I did not remove my clothes.”
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“Please, I did not remove my clothes. 100% not,” she said.
Bonjean insinuated that Haley was being an uncooperative witness, complaining to the judge that they “would be here all day.” At one point, she snapped at Haley: “I ask the questions, you answer them.”
Haley also sniped that Bonjean was “trying to be cute” during another tense moment.
Farber again tried to rein in the women trading barbs, saying: “Why is it you can’t refrain from commentating?”
Haley also cried on Wednesday during testimony when she first described to the jury both times she claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her.
In the first alleged attack at his apartment, Haley testified that she told Weinstein no and even disclosed she was on her period.
She claimed he “yanked” her tampon out before “forcefully” performing oral sex on her.
Haley described feeling “mortified” and “in disbelief” about the alleged attack.
Less than a month later, on July 26, she claimed Weinstein convinced her to meet him again at the TriBeCa Grand Hotel where he immediately forced her onto the bed and raped her.
“Oh no, oh no — not again” she recalled thinking at the time.
The ex-Miramax studio boss’ attorney on Friday, asked Haley why she agreed to meet Weinstein again after the first alleged assault.
“He was very persistent and manipulative, in my opinion. He asked me to come and meet him — just to talk or whatever,” Haley testified.
When she realized she wasn’t meeting Weinstein in a public area of the hotel, but rather inside a room, “I could have and should have walked out,” she said.
Bonjean first began questioning Haley on cross-examination on Thursday, needling her about her A-list connections and appearing to try to paint her as a money-hungry social climber.
Haley answered questions about meeting a slew of celebrities during her time working with British film and theater producer Michael White, confirming she’d encountered rockers Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney, actor Jack Nicholson and “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels.
“Who is Paul McCartney?” Bonjean asked after questioning Haley about if she met the Beatle through White, in an apparent attempt to be snide.
“Yes,” Haley replied. “He was in The Beatles. He’s a musician.”
Haley also testified against Weinstein, in 2020 painting a very similar picture to what she has described so far during her second stint on the stand.
Weinstein was convicted in that case, and was sentenced to 23 years behind bars. But that conviction was overturned last year.
Michael Pitt of ‘Boardwalk Empire’ arrested on sexual abuse charges
Michael Pitt, known for his roles in Boardwalk Empire and Dawson’s Creek, has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse in New York City.
Pitt, 44, was arrested and arraigned at Kings Supreme Criminal Court in Brooklyn on May 2 over alleged incidents that took place between April 2020 and August 2021.
The Funny Games actor was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, in addition to counts of assault injury with a blunt object and strangulation in the second degree, according to Variety, which has viewed the court documents.
Pitt pleaded not guilty to all charges and posted bail after the arraignment. His next court appearance is set for June 17.
The New York Post reported that the charges stem from alleged incidents involving Pitt’s ex-girlfriend, who said he sexually assaulted her and later attacked her with a cement block and a chunk of wood.
Law enforcement told the outlet that the alleged violent episodes occurred at Pitt’s Bushwick home with his then-girlfriend.
Prosecutors alleged that Pitt sexually assaulted the victim and struck her with a wooden plank. On a separate occasion, in June 2021, the Murder By Numbers actor is accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend with a cinderblock.
Pitt is also accused of strangling the victim on Aug. 7, 2021, according to the indictment. (Global News has not independently viewed the legal documents.)
“Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr. Pitt — an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes — can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unhinged individual,” Jason Goldman, Pitt’s lawyer, said in a statement.
“In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, at a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual and voluntary relationship. This case will be dismissed.”
The Run With The Hunted actor has had previous run-ins with the law, including an arrest in July 2022, where he was charged with assault and petty larceny for allegedly hitting another man multiple times and stealing his cellphone. It’s unclear if those charges have been dismissed.
Later that same year, Pitt was hospitalized and deemed “emotionally disturbed” after being accused of throwing objects at people from the rooftop of a building.
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