A former model criticized one of Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers for claiming that her sexual abuse allegations against the former film executive were false.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Kaja Sokola responded. On her fifth and last day of testimony in Weinstein’s retrial for sex crimes, she insisted that she was telling the truth and said Weinstein’s actions during her teenage years changed her life significantly.
“It changed the course of your life in that you got $3.5 million from false accusations?” asked defense lawyer Mike Cibella, referring to money she received from civil proceedings in recent years.
“No. That’s very unfair,” Sokola quietly replied. “That’s not true.”
During her testimony, Sokola described how Weinstein had promised to support her acting career but instead made unwanted sexual advances, starting when she was 16 in 2002.
Weinstein, 73, is charged with sexual assault based only on Sokola’s claim that he forced oral sex on her when she was 19. He is also facing charges based on accusations from two other women. He has pleaded not guilty, and his defense team argues that the sexual encounters were consensual and that the women were seeking roles in film and television.
Weinstein’s lawyers questioned Sokola about why she continued to seek career support from him after the alleged assault, her reasons for filing lawsuits, her personal struggles, and even a private journal she kept during an alcohol recovery program in Poland.
The defense obtained this decade-old journal through Sokola’s sister. In it, she wrote about being sexually assaulted by two other men but did not mention Weinstein. Instead, she said he promised her support but did not follow through.
Harvey Weinstein appears in state court in ManhattanSokola explained on Wednesday that she did not include Weinstein’s alleged abuse in the journal because she was not ready to face it at the time. She added that her sponsor in the program worked in Poland’s film industry and knew who Weinstein was.
Cibella challenged this, pointing out that the journal only mentioned “Harvey W” and nothing about his job. Sokola responded that her sponsor still knew who he was because they had spoken about it.
Sokola, now 39 and working as a psychotherapist, became emotional as she testified. She said she had not seen the black notebook in 10 years, did not authorize anyone to share it, and was shocked to be confronted with it during the trial.
“I felt very violated,” she said.
She is the second woman to testify in this retrial and the only one who did not take part in Weinstein’s 2020 trial. That earlier case resulted in a significant conviction during the #MeToo movement, which was later overturned, leading to this new trial. Prosecutors added Sokola’s accusations to the case.
Another woman, Miriam Haley, has already testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. The third accuser, Jessica Mann, is expected to take the stand soon. She claims Weinstein raped her in 2013.