Jennifer Siebel Newsom Admits Faking an Orgasm With Harvey Weinstein Who Raped Her | California Governor Attends Trial to Support Wife
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, looked shocked on the stand after she was asked to explain how she faked an orgasm with Harvey Weinstein, who she claimed had raped her.
Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker, started taking the stand in Weinstein's second sexual assault trial in Los Angeles on Monday. On Tuesday, the California first lady resisted answering Mark Werksman, Weinstein's lawyer, who asked how she expressed her "pleasure" during the alleged encounter in 2005 at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills, where she claimed Weinstein raped her, New York Post reported.
"This is not 'When Harry Met Sally.' I'm not doing that," Siebel Newsom, who was visibly annoyed by the lawyer's question. The California governor's wife was referring to a 1989 movie scene in which Meg Ryan's character faked a loud orgasm in a restaurant in New York.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Wife, Explained Why She Faked Her Orgasm
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, also known as Jane Doe 4 in court, testified that her meeting with Harvey Weinstein was meant to be a business one. However, it turned into something else after the former film mogul removed his clothes, put on a robe, and began to "manipulate" and "threaten" her.
Gavin Newsom's wife claimed Weinstein used his fingers to penetrate her vagina before inserting his "deformed" and "kind of fish-like" penis.
"Something was distorted in the testicles... Lots of skin, lots of skin down there," Siebel Newsom said as she described Weinstein's penis. She told the court that she made "pleasure noises" after putting her hand on the penis of 70-year-old former Hollywood executive to encourage him to ejaculate so he "would be done."
When Weinstein's lawyer continued to grill the former actress about why she faked an orgasm with his client when he had just raped her, she said in tears: "I was making noises to get him to finish... He had already raped me... This is so gross. I'm sorry."
Werksman also asked the California first lady about dozens of emails she sent to Weinstein after he raped her or between 2006 and 2008. The lawyer said it included emails soliciting support for her husband's mayoral campaign in San Francisco.
According to Variety, Siebel Newsom admitted that she kept in contact with Weinstein even after he raped her because she wanted to keep a cordial relationship with "the most powerful person in the industry," who "could make or ruin your career."
She added that she sends email blasts to large groups of people that included producers, directors, writers, executives, and agents, without realizing that Weinstein was part of that group.
"I have sent hundreds of thousands of emails to people all around the world... It's a long list of people... I was trying to help my boyfriend, almost husband," she noted, adding that "Weinstein was a big Democratic donor."
During cross-examination, the lawyer also cited a 2007 email wherein Siebel Newsom thanked Weinstein for including her and her husband at an Oscars party. Werksman said she also invited the former Hollywood executive to a screening of one of her films.
The lawyer asked her again why she would continue communicating with the man who she claimed raped her, she said: "I was just hustling [and] networking." Her answer suprised Werksman, who shot back, "You were hustling with the man you claimed violently raped you?"
During the long cross-examination, Jennifer Siebel Newsom frequently told Werksman that he was taking her statements "out of context" and "putting words" into her mouth.
Harvey Weinstein Trial
Harvey Weinstein is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting four women in Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013. He is already serving 23 years in jail in New York after being convicted of rape and criminal sexual assault in 2020.
Weinstein's lawyers denied that he assaulted the women accusing him in the Los Angeles trial. They argued that the alleged sexual assaults either did not happen or were consensual affairs in which the alleged victims exchanged sex for professional favors.
According to NPR, Jennifer Siebel Newsom's testimony was the most dramatic so far in the three-week trial. She cried most of the times while on the witness stand, which began when she was asked to name Weinstein for the record.
She said Weinstein first approached her at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005 to introduce himself. At the time, the California first lady said she was a producer and actor with only a few small roles, while Weinstein was at the height of his Hollywood power.
A few weeks later, she noted that Weinstein was in Los Angeles and invited her to a hotel meeting while dropping off a present at her house during a small party. A source told Variety that Gavin Newsom was at the court on both days to support his wife, who left the courtroom sobbing on Tuesday night.
If convicted on two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault, Harvey Weinstein faces a maximum sentence of 65 years to life in prison.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Wife of Gov. Gavin Newom, Testifies Against Harvey Weinstein - From CBS Los Angeles