NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Jessica Mann, a key accuser in the the New York City rape trial of Harvey Weinstein, said she was suffering from a panic attack during cross examination Monday, prompting the judge to cut the former aspiring actress' testimony short.
The judge also released the jury shortly before 4 p.m. -- typically such a session lasts until 4:30 p.m.
Wiping away tears, Mann left the stand, Variety reported.
Mann had testified Monday that she stayed in touch with the once-powerful movie mogul after he allegedly raped her to protect her acting career as the defense sought to paint her as opportunistic manipulator.
Asked on cross-examination about warm emails she sent to Weinstein, the 34-year-old woman responded, "I wanted him to believe I wasn't a threat," she said. She later added: "I was afraid of his unpredictable anger."
Defense lawyer Donna Rotunno, a known #MeToo skeptic, also grilled Mann about consensual sex with Weinstein that Mann claimed only happened after "a long negotiation." Even then, "I wasn't happy to do it," she said.
"You manipulated Mr. Weinstein every single time, isn't that correct?" Rotunno asked.
She responded: "I felt there was an aspect to the way I felt I needed to protect myself that had an element of manipulation."
At one point, Rotunno shot back: "You made a choice to have sexual encounters with Harvey Weinstein when you weren't sexually attracted to him ... You liked the parties and you liked the power."
The defense attorney also grilled Mann about communications that provided him with her new phone number and encouraging him to get in touch.
One read: "I got a new number. Just wanted you to have it. Hope you are well and call me anytime, always good to hear your voice," according to court papers.
At times during the cross-examination, Mann struggled to recall certain details and at one point asked for a break, saying, "I'm getting a little foggy."
The witness returned to the stand after she told jurors last week that Weinstein trapped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013, and angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, and then raped her.
A second attack came eight months later at a Los Angeles hotel, where she worked as a hairdresser, after she told Weinstein that she was dating an actor, she said.
"You owe me one more time!" she said he screamed at her. She said she begged him not to take off her clothes, but he said, "I don't have time for games," and ripped off her pants before pushing her legs apart and raping her.
Weinstein, 67, has insisted that any sexual encounters were consensual. His lawyers aim to raise doubts about the rape accuser's credibility by seizing on her complicated history with the former film producer.
Mann caused a stir Friday when, asked by a prosecutor to describe Weinstein's body, she said that when she first saw him naked, she noticed "extreme scarring" and thought he had characteristics of both male and female genitalia.
"When I first saw him, I was filled with compassion, absolute compassion," she said, adding, "It seemed his anger came from a place of pain."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
