Jurors Get an Eyeful: Nude Pictures of Weinstein

It's not clear why photos taken by Manhattan DA's office were passed around
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 5, 2020 9:04 AM CST
Prosecutors Show Weinstein Jurors Nude Pictures
Harvey Weinstein arrives at court for his rape trial in New York on Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Harvey Weinstein's rape trial took what the New York Post calls a "cringeworthy" turn on Tuesday, with jurors being shown at least five nude photos of the 67-year-old disgraced film producer, including one full-frontal shot. Per Reuters, a photographer for the Manhattan DA's office testified he took the photos in June 2018. The Post has a courtroom sketch of jurors reviewing the photos—Vulture notes at least two sketch artists were able to capture the images on their pads—as well as a description of juror reactions, including one woman who "made a slight face" and another who "raised her eyebrows"; a male juror, meanwhile, "opened his eyes widely."

Weinstein's reaction when a reporter asked him afterward if the photos were of him: "No, it was Playboy." Meanwhile, one of his lawyers had a less-jokey response, saying in an email to Reuters that the photos were circulated to jurors for "no other reason than to shame Mr. Weinstein." Earlier this month, prosecutor Joan Illuzzi noted that "it is not the practice of the District Attorney's Office to ever ... humiliate [a] defendant," per Vulture. It's still not clear why prosecutors introduced the photos, which won't be part of the public record, though accuser Jessica Mann had testified last week that Weinstein seemed to lack testicles and appeared "deformed and intersex." (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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