Harvey Weinstein accuser says he 'got angry at her small breasts'
Harvey Weinstein accuser says disgraced film mogul ‘got angry at her small breasts’ during meeting where he told her sleeping with other men was how she would advance her career
- Heather Kerr was a struggling actress who hoped meeting with movie producer would be her big break
- Instead former actress alleges she was sexually assaulted and left feeling ‘powerless’
- Encounter with producer in his Westwood office led to her giving up acting
Former actress Heather Kerr says disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein got angry at the size of her breasts during a meeting in which she was also told that sleeping with men was how she would advance her career.
The American woman was an aspiring actress in the 1980s when she first met the then-influential movie producer – an encounter that effectively ended her dreams of making it big in Hollywood.
In an interview on the Dr Oz show set to air today, Ms Kerr recounted the fateful 1989 meeting in Weinstein’s Westwod office that left her feeling ‘powerless’ and disillusioned about the acting industry.
Heather Kerr is a former actress (left) who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in 1989. She recounts her ordeal with Dr Oz on his True Crime segment today
As an actress, who had at that point struggled to land any big roles, she had hoped this would be the break she was looking for.
‘There was a buzz about him,’ the former actress tells Dr Oz in a preview clip for the upcoming show. ‘We all knew that he was the guy that was on his way up, he was destined to become the head of Hollywood.’
But Ms Kerr, who appeared in the Facts of Life American sitcom, said as soon as she walked in the room it was evident this would not be the meeting she had hoped for.
‘He looked me up and down and he was angry because my breasts were small. He didn’t use that word, but he basically took me apart piece by piece.
‘He told me to sit down, sat next to me and told me what was going to happen, that I was going to sleep with him, and that this is how things are done.’
Harvey Weinstein enters Manhattan Criminal Court, on January 16, 2020, in New York City. He is facing trial this week over a number of charges including two counts of sexual assault. If convicted he could face live behind bars
Ms Kerr went onto describe how the producer unzipped his hands, pulled out his penis and forced her hand on him, before eventually forcing himself into her mouth.
The former actress, who went on to later find success as a coach on TV shows, also goes on in the rest of the yet-to-air interview provided to The Sun how she was told that this was how things were done in Hollywood.
‘He says, “This is what we’re going to do. You’re going to sleep with me. I will take you to parties and I will introduce you to other men that you’re going to sleep with because that will advance your career. That’s how it’s done.”‘
Heather Kerr appears on the Dr Oz show this week to recount her allegations against the disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. She first came forward with her story in 2017
Ms Kerr, who first came forth with her allegations against Harvey Weinstein in 2017, sat down on The Dr Oz show in the same week that the former Hollywood producer’s trial gets underway in New York City.
He faces a number of charges, including two predatory sexual assault charges that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In a previous account of the alleged sexual assault Ms Kerr described how her brush with the man had left her feeling powerless.
‘I felt so powerless, because he is, after all very powerful and very well known…and very successful,’ said Kerr.
‘I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I was nobody. Why would they believe me?’
Harvey Weinstein has denied all the allegations against him.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW? THE CHARGES AGAINST HARVEY WEINSTEIN
Harvey Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York.
More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades but he only faces five criminal counts in New York – two counts of rape, one count of criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
He faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault.
One of the women Weinstein was charged with assaulting, former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, has said that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2006. Prosecutors say Weinstein raped the second woman, who has not been publicly identified, in 2013.
Harvey Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York. More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades but he only faces five criminal counts
The trial is expected to last for around six weeks.
Los Angeles prosecutors have also charged Weinstein with sexually assaulting two women there on successive nights during Oscar week in 2013.
Lawyers for Weinstein had no immediate comment on the new charges, though he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Weinstein faces up to 28 years in state prison if he is convicted of the charges filed in LA of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint.
His arraignment has not yet been scheduled and prosecutors will recommend $5 million bail. Weinstein is expected to appear in court in California after his trial in New York is finished.
Here is what to expect from the trial:
WHO ARE THE ACCUSERS?
Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi, pictured, in 2006 and raping another woman in 2013
More than 80 women have publicly accused Weinstein, 67, of sexual misconduct, helping to fuel the #MeToo movement over the last two years. The criminal charges against him refer to just three accusers.
Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant on a Weinstein Company television show, has said that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in his Manhattan home in July 2006.
Actress Annabella Sciorra, best known for her role on HBO’s The Sopranos, has said Weinstein raped her in her Manhattan apartment in 1993.
Prosecutors have accused Weinstein of raping another woman in March 2013 in Manhattan. She has not been publicly identified.
Weinstein has said that any sexual encounters he had were consensual.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Weinstein is charged with a criminal sexual act in the first degree against Haleyi, and with rape for the 2013 allegation. He is charged with predatory sexual assault over both allegations.
Sciorra’s allegation is too old to be the basis of a separate charge, but is a crucial part of the predatory sexual assault charges, which require prosecutors to establish a pattern of serious sex crimes against multiple women.
Predatory sexual assault is the most serious charge against Weinstein, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
WHO WILL TESTIFY AGAINST WEINSTEIN?
Haleyi, Sciorra and the 2013 accuser are almost certain to testify in a trial that is expected to last up to eight weeks.
Prosecutors may also call three other women to testify about encounters with Weinstein, even though he is not formally charged with crimes against them. Their testimony is intended to bolster the charges by showing that Weinstein had a consistent pattern of behavior.
Prosecutors have also said that they expect to call Barbara Ziv, a professor at Temple University in Pennsylvania, to testify as an expert on the trauma resulting from sexual assault.
WHAT IS WEINSTEIN’S DEFENSE?
While criminal defendants and their lawyers typically avoid revealing their strategy before trial, Weinstein has dropped some hints.
Weinstein’s lead lawyer, Donna Rotunno, told Reuters that Weinstein had a ‘slew of witnesses ready to go.’ She has said the defense would be introducing emails and text messages to prove that Weinstein’s accusers maintained relationships with him after his alleged assaults.
His lawyers have also said they plan to call psychologist Deborah Davis, of the University of Nevada, Reno, to testify as an expert on memory, suggesting that Weinstein may try to call his accusers’ recollections into question.
Harvey Weinstein was pictured smiling as he arrived at a New York court on January 6 as his lawyers and a judge handle the final preparation for his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault
WHAT OTHER LEGAL RISKS DOES WEINSTEIN FACE?
Even if he is acquitted in Manhattan, Weinstein faces separate criminal charges announced on Monday by prosecutors in Los Angeles. Lawyer Rotunno declined immediate comment on those charges.
Weinstein was charged with sexually assaulting two unidentified women in 2013, said Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey. He was charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting the other.
Lacey said the timing of the charges was unrelated to the New York trial.
But there is some connection between the cases. One of the Los Angeles accusers is expected to testify in the New York case to help prosecutors establish what they say was Weinstein’s pattern of forcing himself on young actresses and women trying to break into Hollywood.
Weinstein is expected to appear in court in California after his New York trial, Lacey said.
The Hollywood mogul stumbled up the stairs as he arrived at a Manhattan courthouse on January 8
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