Woman testifies that Harvey Weinstein’s rape filled her with guilt for years – and that she’s still a mess today
Linda Sarsour, the co-founder of Women’s March, a pro-Israel group that gained national attention after she led the group’s first “die-in” following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, testified that the experience of being a rape survivor left her feeling guilty for years.
She told jurors in an ongoing sex assault trial against Harvey Weinstein in New York that her guilt was so great she would go for days without sleeping and sometimes didn’t want to shower because she was afraid of getting dressed.
“I didn’t want to wash myself because I was like, ‘I’m not showering because I don’t want to get dressed right now,’” she said in her opening statement Thursday.
Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul, was charged Tuesday with rape, criminal sexual act and sexual abuse after the New York Times reported he had forcibly himself raped a woman in 2013. He has denied all the allegations.
The first “die-in” at a rally in the capital to protest sexual abuse and assault took place on Dec. 17, 2017, a month after the Times story was released. Sarsour said she became active in the movement after her rape. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
[In the years following the rape and assault, Linda Sarsour said she felt guilty and confused. Her testimony is crucial to Weinstein’s case]
Sarsour said Weinstein assaulted her at his New York state home in 2004. She said he had a history of molesting young women he lured into his suite and forcing them to perform oral sex while he was watching.
She said he threatened her and forced her to say she was a 19-year-old virgin.
Sarsour said she tried to fight off the advances to the extent that she scratched his face and grabbed his hair, then he pushed her onto a bed and raped her