Accuser: Weinstein Offered Me Film Roles for Threesome

Dawn Dunning said movie mogul touched her genitals in earlier meeting
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2020 12:48 PM CST
Accuser: Weinstein Got Scary After Threesome Rejection
Harvey Weinstein arrives at court for his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault in New York on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A former aspiring actress testified Wednesday that Harvey Weinstein offered her contracts for three films while dressed in a bathrobe in his hotel room—on the condition that she engage in a threesome. "I thought he was kidding," said Dawn Dunning, who met with the movie mogul several times to discuss possible film roles after an initial meeting at a nightclub where she worked in 2004. "He would make comments about my looks and my body but … I never thought it was unsafe," she said, per USA Today. Then on one occasion, Weinstein led her away from a crowded hotel suite into another room and "put his hand up my skirt," Dunning testified at State Supreme Court in Manhattan. "I stood up. I was shocked," she said. "He started talking really fast, he was like, don't make a big deal out of this, he said it wouldn't happen again."

Dunning said she again met Weinstein at a hotel a few weeks later, when she received his offer about a threesome, because the work relationship "was a really big deal for me" and "I didn't want to be a victim." "When I started to leave, he started screaming at me and said, 'You'll never make it in this business!'" she said. The New York Times describes Dunning as "choking back tears" during her testimony. Model Tarale Wulff testified next, as prosecutors aim to establish a pattern of abuse with what are called "Molineux" witnesses. Wulff claims Weinstein masturbated in front of her at a restaurant where she worked before raping her during a meeting about a film role, per the Times. Weinstein is charged with forcing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haleyi, who testified Monday, and raping actress Jessica Mann, who will testify later this week. Annabella Sciorra, the first Molineux witness, testified last week; the fourth and final one, Lauren Young, will likely testify next week. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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