The first accuser to testify against Harvey Weinstein at his Manhattan retrial finished two days of cross-examination Friday, defending her account in court sessions punctuated by tears and shouting.
The woman, Miriam Haley, has said that Mr. Weinstein, once a powerful movie producer, sexually assaulted her nearly 20 years ago after inviting her to his SoHo apartment to “say hi” the night before they were scheduled to attend a premiere in Los Angeles.
Shortly after she arrived that afternoon, July 10, 2006, Ms. Haley testified, he backed her into a bedroom, forced her onto a bed, held her down and forcibly put his mouth on her vagina.
On Thursday and Friday, one of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, Jennifer Bonjean, pressed Ms. Haley on the details of her accusations, trying to cast doubt on her recollection. Ms. Bonjean questioned Ms. Haley about what she had worn on the night in question: Had she worn jeans?
“It’s possible, but I don’t remember him ripping jeans off,” Ms. Haley answered.
When Ms. Bonjean asked whether Ms. Haley remembered Mr. Weinstein ripping “something else off,” Ms. Haley responded that he had yanked out her tampon.
“I didn’t take my clothes off,” Ms. Haley said, her voice cracking before she added, “He raped me. I didn’t arrive naked.”
The judge overseeing the case, Justice Curtis Farber of State Supreme Court, quickly called for a break as the two women began to shout over each other. Ms. Haley began to cry and cursed, using words presumably meant for Mr. Weinstein, before clapping her hand over her mouth.
The episode was one of several sharp exchanges between Ms. Bonjean and Ms. Haley as the retrial of Mr. Weinstein finished its sixth day of testimony.
Justice Farber used his gavel to quiet the women more than once and admonished them to “follow my rules.” (Of the gavel, he later quipped: “I had to go looking for it, I hadn’t used it in 13 years.”)
It was the second time Ms. Haley, who worked for Mr. Weinstein’s company as a television production assistant for about three weeks in 2006, has testified against him.
In 2020, Mr. Weinstein, 73, was convicted of sex crimes in New York and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Last year, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction in a 4-3 decision.
The judges found that prosecutors should not have been allowed to call as witnesses women who said Mr. Weinstein had assaulted them but whose accusations were not supported by physical evidence and were not the basis for any of the charges. The court ordered a retrial, which began last month.
Mr. Weinstein has been convicted of similar charges in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison there.
Mr. Weinstein, whose fall from grace helped propel the #MeToo movement, was known in Hollywood as a man who could make dreams come true, his lawyers have argued. The reputation worked to his benefit as he “fooled around” with young women who hoped to succeed in the movie industry, the lawyers say. They insist that his interactions with women were consensual, and he has pleaded not guilty.
“One person has a little bit of power over the other, and there’s a little bit of sex going on,” Arthur L. Aidala, one of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, said during opening statements.
Prosecutors argue that Mr. Weinstein wielded unfettered power over the film and television industry for 30 years to exert “enormous control” and sexually assault three women: Ms. Haley; Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress; and Kaja Sokola, a model who has accused him of attacking her at a Manhattan hotel, also in 2006. Like Ms. Haley, Ms. Mann testified at the first trial.
Mr. Weinstein used his ability to help people fulfill their dreams “as weapons,” Shannon Lucey, an assistant district attorney, said during opening arguments. He “wanted their bodies,” she added.
Over two days, Ms. Bonjean tried to get Ms. Haley to concede that she had benefited from her relationship with Mr. Weinstein, with him paying for flights, getting her tickets to events, and helping her get jobs. Ms. Haley has said that he found her a position on the reality show “Project Runway” and that she had stayed in touch with him and his assistants in an effort to get work.
Addressing another point the defense is likely to raise with all three of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers, Ms. Bonjean asked Ms. Haley about money she received from a settlement fund established in the bankruptcy of Mr. Weinstein’s company. Ms. Haley said she had gotten about $475,000.
Ms. Haley, who was born in Finland and grew up in Sweden, has said she decided not to contact the police after the encounter with Mr. Weinstein because she felt he was too powerful and she worried that the police would focus on her working without a proper visa.
Ms. Bonjean hammered at Ms. Haley over her delay in going to the authorities and her efforts to continue to communicate with Mr. Weinstein about work for several years in emails she signed with phrases like “lots of love.”
“What were you so confused about for the next three years? Ms. Bonjean asked.
Prosecutors objected to the question, which Ms. Haley did not answer.
