Model and actress Lauren Young alleged in court Wednesday that Harvey Weinstein groped her while she was trapped in a bathroom with him in 2013, becoming the final accuser to testify in his rape trial.
Young told jurors she met Weinstein at a hotel to discuss a movie script of hers. Once there, she alleges the disgraced producer trapped her in a bathroom, where he masturbated in front her and groped her, USA Today reports.
"I felt so trapped," she said, per The Hollywood Reporter. "I tried to approach [the door], and he stepped in front of me."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Young also testified that Weinstein pulled down her dress while masturbating. "I said, 'No, No, No,' the whole time," she said, adding she told Weinstein "that I had a boyfriend and I wasn't interested," Variety reports. Weinstein allegedly told Young, "How am I going to know if you can act?"
According to Young's account, she went to the hotel to meet with Weinstein and another woman, Claudia Salinas, who allegedly closed the bathroom door on her and Weinstein.
"The girl that invited me closed the door, she left me there," Young testified, per USA Today. "That's when I realized, 'this was set up, she put me in here.'"
Weinstein is facing charges for allegedly forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006 and raping a woman in 2013, but prosecutors called several other accusers, including Young, to establish a pattern of behavior. Weinstein is facing separate charges in Los Angeles in connection to Young's allegation, as well as for allegedly raping another woman.
Young is the sixth and final witness prosecutors have called in Weinstein's trial. He has pleaded not guilty, and if convicted, he's facing possible life in prison. The New York Times' writes Young's testimony is "expected to be one of the last pieces of evidence the Manhattan district attorney's office presents before resting its case."
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Argentinian beef is at the center of American farmers’ woesThe Explainer ‘It feels like a slap in the face to rural America,’ said one farmer
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
