Final Harvey Weinstein accuser testifies hours after jurors were shown naked pics of the fallen movie producer

'This is what all actresses do to make it', he told her

The final accuser at Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial took the witness stand on Wednesday, testifying that he allegedly stripped off his clothes, pulled down her dress and groped her breast in a hotel bathroom in 2013, all the while telling her his lewd acts were part of the way things worked in Hollywood.

“This is what all actresses do to make it,” model and actress Lauren Marie Young quoted Weinstein as saying.

She testified that Weinstein allegedly persisted by masturbating, despite her telling him, “’No, no, no’ the whole time”.

Young, 30, is expected to be the last of six women to testify at the trial about alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein. She is one of several women prosecutors have called to bolster their effort to portray Weinstein as an alleged serial offender even though their accusations aren’t part of the underlying criminal charges at issue in the New York City trial.

Prosecutors called them as witnesses under a state law that allows testimony about so-called “prior bad acts”.

Weinstein is accused of raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on another woman in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of non-consensual sex. Weinstein has also denied retaliating against women.

Young began her testimony by describing how she put on her favourite dress before heading off to a meeting with Weinstein where she expected to “network and pitch my ideas.” After he invited her up to his Beverly Hills hotel room, she said Weinstein allegedly lured her into the bathroom while a female friend of Weinstein’s who was there closed the door behind them.

Photos of a naked Harvey Weinstein are passed around jurors at his trial in New York (REUTERS / Jane Rosenberg)

The witness testified that after Weinstein was nude, he allegedly kept her from escaping by pushing her against the sink and blocking her way to the door.

“I felt so trapped and I was in shock,” she said, adding that she started weeping and pleading with Weinstein not to hurt her before he finally stepped out of the bathroom.

She said she pulled up her dress and walked out to find Weinstein’s friend “still standing right there.” ”I shot her an evil look and I left as quick as I could,” she added.

Young’s allegations involving the hotel encounter in California are partly the basis of criminal charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney on 6 January, just as Weinstein’s New York trial was getting underway. Weinstein is also charged with raping a different woman in that case.

Earlier on Wednesday, jurors heard from a former front desk manager who checked Weinstein into a midtown Manhattan hotel where he is alleged to have raped a different woman in March 2013. The testimony was meant to corroborate the woman’s claim that Weinstein bullied his way into the hotel over her objections.

“Usually couples checking in are in a happy mood,” Rothschild Capulong told the jury, adding he was so concerned about Weinstein’s behaviour that he made a note in his end-of-shift report that security might want to check on his room.

Young’s testimony came the day after jurors were shown naked photographs of the former Hollywood producer over his lawyers’ objections.

A sketch artist hired by Reuters saw a couple of the naked photos when they were passed to the jury and produced a drawing for the news agency. In the courtroom, prosecutors did not say why the photographs were introduced or how many were presented.

A photographer employed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office testified that he took the pictures in June 2018.

Weinstein did not respond to reporters’ questions about what he thought of jurors viewing naked photos of him. Donna Rotunno, a lawyer for Weinstein, said in an email that the photos had been introduced for “no other reason than to shame Mr Weinstein.”​

Additional reporting by agencies