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Weinstein’s ex-assistant describes how he tried to rape her in new documentary
Harvey Weinstein’s former assistant will share her story of abuse at the hands of the disgraced mogul and describe the decades it took her to come to terms with the trauma in a new documentary series. “On the day of sentencing when he got 23 years, that was very vindicating,” Rowena Chiu, 45, told The …
Harvey Weinstein’s former assistant will share her story of abuse at the hands of the disgraced mogul and describe the decades it took her to come to terms with the trauma in a new documentary series.
“On the day of sentencing when he got 23 years, that was very vindicating,” Rowena Chiu, 45, told The Post. “He has destroyed so many lives.”
Weinstein was convicted earlier this year of forcibly performing oral sex on former “Project Runway” assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping hairstylist Jessica Mann.
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge sentenced him to 23 years – just six years shy of the maximum – and the case gave many of his victims a measure of closure.
“I was in tears from the testimony,” Chiu said. “They [the victims who testified] really represented all of us who were unable to come forward.”
The series “Harvey Weinstein: ID Breaking Now” will feature interviews from Chiu and other Weinstein accusers, including actress Rosanna Arquette and Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez.
Chiu came out publicly last year in the book “She Said,” penned by the New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey — the first to report the bombshell sexual harassment and assault allegations against the once-mighty producer.
The former Miramax assistant, then 24, said that Weinstein tried to rape her in 1998 during a late-night meeting at the Venice Film Festival.
It was just two months into her new job, and she had worn two pairs of tights to help fend off his advances.
Chiu said Weinstein pushed her against a bed and tried to force himself on her, but she wriggled free. She tearfully told her friend — then-fellow Weinstein assistant, Zelda Perkins — what happened.
But their attempts to report the Hollywood titan to his superiors weren’t taken seriously. They hired lawyers, reached a $426,000 settlement and signed non-disclosure agreements, forbidding them from discussing the attack.
During the meeting, Weinstein allegedly told the women, “I truly apologize for the pain I’ve caused you … Sometimes [I] don’t know when it’s consensual. Trying to learn.”
The contractually enforced silence was crushing for Chiu and alienated her from her friends and family.
“It was a very difficult number of years after signing the NDA, the business of not speaking is a huge burden to bear,” she said. “I attempted to commit suicide twice three years after signing the agreement. It was an incredible struggle and eventually, I rebuilt my life.”
Chiu left the film industry and is now a stay-at-home mom of four living in Palo Alto, California.
She hopes that the documentary will keep the spotlight on the #MeToo movement.
“It took a long time, an entire movement for some survivors to have the courage to come out,” she said.
“I would hope that when the world finally gets back to business after coronavirus some of that momentum will continue.”
The first installment of the program will air on the Investigation Discovery network this Sunday at 10 p.m.
