“It was shocking. I sort of couldn’t believe the things he was saying,” Dunlany told The Daily Beast of the outlandish claim by Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman. “It was hard for them to sink in at first. It was upsetting. And I was absolutely outraged.”
Sitting in the back of the courtroom, Dulany—who previously sued Weinstein for sexual assault, before a judge rejected the terms of a proposed class-action settlement—had expected the proceedings to be taxing. She did not expect this.
“He’s not Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Do you think these beautiful women had sex with him because he’s hot? No, it’s because he’s powerful,” Werksman said. “Transactional sex…it may have been unpleasant…and now embarrassing. [But] everyone did it. He did it. They did it.” The legal team for Weinstein, who remained in court on Tuesday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It was a deplorable, low-brow, vicious tactic to get his client off,” Dulany added. “I’m sure the defense is terrified to have Jen Siebel Newsom on the stand.” Weinstein’s lawyers on Monday did not mention his previous conviction, instead choosing to systemically attempt to discredit each of the women set to take the stand in the prosecution’s case. Insisting there was no evidence to support their allegations, Werksman tried to argue the only thing motivating them was shame.