Sophia Michaels
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, actress and documentary filmmaker, burst into tears as she began her testimony at Harvey Weinstein’s trial in Los Angeles on Monday, The Associated Press reports. Known as Jane Doe #4 in the case, Siebel Newsom is married to Gov. Gavin Newsom and alleges she was raped by Weinstein in 2005. Like the other women Weinstein is charged with raping or sexually assaulting, Siebel Newsom’s name is not being spoken in court.
Weinstein, who is already serving a 23-year sentence for a conviction in New York, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and and seven counts of sexual assault involving five women.
After taking the stand, Siebel Newsom said she was “a little nervous.” When asked by the prosecutor, deputy district attorney Marlene Martinez, to identify the 70-year-old Weinstein in the courtroom, Siebel Newsom started to cry and said “yes” into the microphone. “He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie, and he’s staring at me,” she said.
Siebel Newsom told the jury that she met Weinstein in 2005, when she was 31-years-old and at a bar with entertainment industry friends during the Toronto Film Festival. At the time, she was a working actor and producer taking on small roles and not yet dating Newsom.
“There was this big person coming towards me and it felt like everybody sort of backed away,” she recalled, describing when he initially approached her. “It felt like the Red Sea was parting. I don’t know if it was deference or fear.”
“He came directly to me and people sort of backed off. He wanted to know who I was, what my name was, why I was there,” she said.
She continued, “I felt a bit intimidated. He was charming. He treated me initially like he was really curious about me.” She said he told her he wanted to meet up with her later. “I felt like there was a genuine interest in talking about my work.”
When recalling her initial introduction to Weinstein, Siebel Newsom said, “He was like the kingmaker, he was the top of the industry.”
Later, she met up with Weinstein at a hotel bar, which was a public venue. She said he was very focused on her and not her friend who was also there. “One thing that was interesting is that he was very charming. He saw that I was smart,” she said. “He was really focused on telling me I was special and I was different.”
Weinstein is charged with forcible oral copulation and forcible rape of Jane Doe #4 between Sept. 1, 2004 and Sept. 30, 2005, according to court documents, CNN reports.
Though she is known as Jane Doe #4 and her name is not being said in court along with the other anonymous women Weinstein is charged with raping or sexually assaulting, both the prosecution and the defense have identified Siebel Newson as the governor’s wife during the trial. Siebel Newsom’s attorney also confirmed to The Associated Press and other news outlets that she is Jane Doe #4.
Siebel Newsom will resume her testimony later on Monday afternoon. She is the fourth woman Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting to testify in the former Hollywood mogul’s trial.
