Former aspiring actress Jessica Mann read an email she sent her boyfriend at the time of her sexual encounters with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
Mann broke down in sobs while reading excerpts from an email she sent to “Twilight” actor Edi Gathegi in May of 2014, according to a report published Monday by Page Six.
Jessica Mann (C) exits the Manhattan criminal court after testifying against film producer Harvey Weinstein for his sexual assault trial at Manhattan criminal court on February 3, 2020 in New York City. Weinstein, a movie producer whose alleged sexual misconduct helped spark the #MeToo movement, pleaded not-guilty on five counts of rape and sexual assault against two unnamed women and faces a possible life sentence in prison. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
“My secret and my fear is knowing that a part of the dynamic I had with Harvey [Weinstein] would mean you’d never talk to me again…I was close enough to him to tell you that he no longer has a working penis,” Mann read on the stand. “On the lower half of his body he had some type of surgery or burn and he’s lucky to even have his parts.”
“Harvey validated me,” she continued. “He always offered to help me in ways that my parents didn’t. I felt approval to pursue the industry because he was encouraging. Harvey was my father’s age and he gave me all the validation that I needed.”
Mann claimed Gathegi never responded to her email. (RELATED: Harvey Weinstein Doesn’t Have Testicles, Rape Accuser Testifies)
Justice James Burke ended testimony early due to Mann’s emotional moment.
Mann has accused Weinstein of raping her twice in 2013, once at a DoubleTree hotel and another time in Los Angeles.
As previously reported, Weinstein faces life in prison for two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual acts and two counts of rape. He was also indicted in a separate case in Los Angeles.