Weinstein accuser testifies he screamed at her, 'This is how this industry works’

Two more Harvey Weinstein accusers took the stand in his rape trial Wednesday, with one witness recalling the disgraced producer telling her, "This is how this industry works."

Dawn Dunning, a once-aspiring actress, told jurors in Weinstein's trial Wednesday that he sexually assaulted her in 2004, putting his hand up her skirt without consent, The Wrap reports.

"I just kind of froze for a minute and then stood up," she testified. "He told me not to make a big deal about it, he apologized and said it wouldn't happen again."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Dunning, who says she quit pursuing acting because of Weinstein, testified that he later offered her film roles in exchange for a threesome with his assistant, berating her when she declined.

"He started screaming at me," she testified. "He said, 'You'll never make it in this business. This is how this industry works.'"

Later, Tarale Wulff, also a once aspiring actress, testified that Weinstein masturbated in front of her at a restaurant and raped her at his New York apartment in 2005, per The Hollywood Reporter.

"He put himself inside me and raped me," Wulff testified. "It was a shock."

Weinstein, who been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 80 women, is facing charges in connection to an alleged 2006 sexual assault and alleged 2013 rape, but Dunning and Wulff both testified as "prior bad acts" witnesses as prosecutors seek to establish a pattern of behavior. Actress Annabella Sciorra, who has accused Weinstein of rape, previously testified as a "prior bad acts" witness, while former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, whose sexual assault allegation is central to the case, also testified earlier this week. Weinstein denies all allegations of nonconsensual sex acts and has pleaded not guilty.