Following days of graphic testimony from former actress Jessica Mann, the jury in Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial was forced to review five nude photos of the disgraced film producer that were taken by the Manhattan district attorney’s office after his 2018 arrest.
According to Page Six, the photos were shown to the jury Tuesday shortly after the DA photographer testified that the evidence accurately captured Weinstein’s body as it appeared at the time they were taken. The photos have seemingly been introduced to corroborate Mann’s previous allegation that Weinstein’s penis is accompanied by atypical genitalia.
One female Manhattan Supreme Court juror made a slight face when she saw the snaps, while another woman on the panel raised her eyebrows and a male juror opened his eyes widely.
The photos — including a full-frontal snap of Weinstein — were among 72 shots taken by a photographer for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office during its investigation into the criminal case.
After the trial was adjourned for the day, Weinstein jokingly replied to a reporter inquiring about the photos, saying that “it was Playboy,” reports the news agency.
The photos may play a crucial role in corroborating the allegations Mann testified to last Friday, which included reflections on the first time she saw Weinstein naked and her initial belief that she thought he may be “intersex,” as previously reported by Vulture.
“The first time I saw him fully naked,” said Mann, “I thought he was deformed and intersex. He has an extreme scarring that I didn’t know, maybe [he] was a burn victim.” Mann later told the court that Weinstein “does not have testicles, and it appears that he has a vagina,” reports the news agency.
According to The New York Times, Mann, an accuser whose allegations carry potentially severe criminal consequences, has alleged she consciously entered into a consensual but abusive relationship with Weinstein after she was allegedly forced to let him perform oral sex during a meeting about a potential movie role.
“I made the decision to be in a relationship with him,” said Mann, according to Vulture. “And part of that was because I was sexual with very few people. I entered into what I thought was going to be a real relationship with him — and it was extremely degrading from that point on,” said Mann.
The Times reports Mann has acknowledged having separate consensual sexual interactions with Weinstein.
In a separate 2013 incident, Mann alleges Weinstein prevented her from leaving his hotel room and then forcibly raped her, reports the Times.
During cross-examination on Monday, Donna Rotunno, a lead defense attorney for Weinstein, questioned Mann about maintaining friendly relations with Weinstein via email after she alleges the sexual assault occurred, reports the Times.
“You manipulated Mr. Weinstein every single time — as manipulated as you claim you felt — isn’t it true?” asked Rotunno, who directed the court’s attention to the maintained contact between Mann and Weinstein, reports the news agency.
“How I handled it to survive and process it — yeah, I guess you could say it was manipulation,” retorted Mann, maintaining her actions at the time were designed to protect herself.
Monday’s testimony ended abruptly when Mann began sobbing uncontrollably after Rotunno asked her about a sexual assault that occurred when she was younger.