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Harvey Weinstein reacted inappropriately during a meeting with a woman, who then raped her new hours. Sky News got the video, in which the disgraced producer makes sexually suggestive comments to Melissa Thompson, 28, and touches her body.
In 2011, Thompson said he met Weinstein at the Weinstein Company's office in New York to present the services of his tech start-up. She recorded their meeting as part of the demo. A few hours later, in his hotel room a few blocks away, Thompson said Weinstein had raped her.
At the beginning of the meeting, we see Weinstein arrive alone and tell his staff "do not interrupt". Sky News reported that he then locked the door. After rejecting his handshake attempt, he was shown a hug in which he rubs his lower back and, throughout the video, touches her on the arms and shoulders.
Throughout the meeting, Weinstein continually makes suggestive comments about Thompson. "Am I allowed to flirt with you?", He asks at the beginning of the meeting. When she answers, "We'll see a little bit," Weinstein says, he will not do it. In an interview with Sky, she said that he would spend "almost triggering the use" of his service, then he would put his hand under the table and put his dress up. In the video, she squirms appreciably and says "it's a bit high".
"Whenever he was unfit enough to say something, he could feel it and he retracted and he changed the dynamics again," said Thompson. "Now, I see, he tries in every possible way, to move about this comfortable, uncomfortable, confused and vulnerable area, and to recognize that he is powerful and that I am not. And that I need this agreement from him and that he has the power to give it to me.
In the video, he also says, "Let me have a small part of you. Give it to me. It's okay, would you like to do even more?
Thompson is slightly flirting and touching her shoulder, but she says she's "trying to save face" and managing the situation. Weinstein's change of behavior prevented her from thinking clearly, she told Sky.
"At one point, his whole impact changed and he looked like a predator. Her eyes have become dark, "she said. "I had entered fight or flight mode and I was afraid of him."
Weinstein is heard in the video saying that he wants to meet her later for a drink in a lobby of the neighboring hotel. Thompson left, assuming it was to conclude the case. She felt safe that it was in a lobby near her office, instead of her hotel room. But after their meeting, that's where Weinstein drove her anyway and Thompson said she raped her.
"If I tried to fight him, he would be more inclined to block me somewhere and he's a great person. I felt constantly trapped, no matter where I turned. He has cornered me again and again, "Thompson said.
The recorded meeting and the alleged rape are both included in a class action against Weinstein and other people related to him who could have known what was happening.
"Were the people noisier and did not they say," Yeah, it's Harvey "or" Yes, we have to live with it "- we do not have to live with illegal and abusive things. We do not have to live with rape when we think we are going to a work meeting, "Thompson said.
In a statement, Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said: "The video, viewed in its entirety, in context and not in selected excerpts, shows that there is nothing forced, but relaxed, if not flirt with both parties. We are still trying to publicly dishonor Mr. Weinstein for his financial gain and we will not tolerate him. "
Watch the video here.
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