Tense scene at Weinstein trial as alleged perv appears to have medical episode after accuser's defiant gesture
The bizarre moment came after a former actress who accused Weinstein, 73, of raping her defiantly stared down the disgraced Hollywood producer after leaving the witness stand and pointed a finger at her eye, demanding that he look at her.
The startling 'look at me' gesture by Jessica Mann, 38, prompted Weinstein's high-powered defense attorney Arthur Aidala to argue for a mistrial to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber.
As Aidala contended that the trial should be tossed, Weinstein bizarrely made gurgling sounds — and two court officers quickly surrounded him.
The wheelchair-bound Weinstein took a sip of water, bringing the brief episode to an end.
Asked later if Weinstein had a medical episode, Aidala told The Post that the Miramax founder's already-poor health has been getting worse.
'The short answer is yes, but it was alleviated,' the attorney said.
'He's not doing well. The last two weeks there has been a marked difference in his physical appearance and his stamina. I don't know if its the cancer kicking in, but he's definitely suffering.'
Mann's daring gesture came after she wrenchingly detailed to jurors, between sobs, an alleged rape by Weinstein at a Beverly Hills hotel.
But the convicted sex pest could only shake his head in response, before he descended into gurgling.
'That's absolutely inappropriate behavior by her,' Aidala wailed to the judge.
Prosecutors argued Mann's reaction didn't even come close to grounds for a mistrial — and Farber agreed, denying Aidala's bid.
Mann later returned to the stand and continued to recount the alleged California hotel rape, which took place around the beginning of 2014, recounting for jurors how she had taken an hours-long shower afterward.
'I'm going to bury this so deep and I'm going to forget about this and move on with my life,' she said she told herself.
Mann testified that she decided to 'keep going' to pursue her Hollywood dreams – and continued to have contact with the powerful Weinstein, which led to a consensual sexual relationship.
She recounted that she faked orgasms to end uncomfortable sexual encounters with Weinstein.
'I'm not saying I performed her performance but I made noises,' she said, comparing her fake orgasms to that of Meg Ryan's character in an infamous scene from the 1989 romantic comedy 'When Harry Met Sally.'
'It was definitely not the best I ever had,' she added when Aidala asked if it was a lie.
Mann's first day of testimony Monday saw her tearfully detail another alleged rape by Weinstein in a Midtown hotel.
She testified that after the attack, she found an erection-inducing drug needle apparently used by Weinstein in a hotel room's garbage can with a puzzling label.
'I found on Google that it basically meant 'dead penis,' and you inject it and it can only be used a certain amount of times back to back over a certain time,' she told jurors.
Weinstein is only charged in the Midtown alleged rape. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in his sex crimes retrial.
Weinstein in 2022 was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault at a Los Angeles trial. He has appealed the conviction.
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