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Jessica Mann -- one of the key accusers in Harvey Weinstein's New York City rape trial -- broke down in tears while on the witness stand in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday during an exhaustive cross-examination over the nature of her relationship with the disgraced movie mogul.
During her cross-examination, Mann, 34, started sobbing and couldn't stop. The incident, which prompted the judge to send the jury home about an hour earlier than usual, came after the defense sought to paint Mann as an opportunistic manipulator who took advantage of Weinstein while pursuing an acting career, even after he allegedly raped her.
Mann said she “tried to make him my pseudo father" after a rough upbringing. The judge decided to resume court on Tuesday. Mann left the courtroom still crying and drying her tears.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN ACCUSER JESSICA MANN CLAIMS HIS GENITALIA APPEARED 'DEFORMED'
“I wanted him to believe I wasn't a threat," she said. She later added: “I was afraid of his unpredictable anger."
Defense lawyer Donna Rotunno, a known #MeToo skeptic, sought to shoot down those explanations by zeroing in on the accuser's admission that she also had non-coerced sexual encounters with Weinstein that she said only happened after “a long negotiation." Even then, “I wasn't happy to do it," she said.
“You manipulated Mr. Weinstein every single time, isn’t that correct?” Rotunno asked.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN ACCUSER DETAILS HER ALLEGED ASSAULT IN COURT: 'I'M BEING RAPED'
She responded: “I felt there was an aspect to the way I felt I needed to protect myself that had an element of manipulation.”
At one point, Rotunno shot back: “You made a choice to have sexual encounters with Harvey Weinstein when you weren’t sexually attracted to him. ... You liked the parties and you liked the power.”
Mann returned to the stand on Monday after she told jurors last week that Weinstein trapped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013, allegedly angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, and then raped her.
A second attack came eight months later at a Los Angeles hotel, where she worked as a hairdresser after she told Weinstein that she was dating an actor, she said.
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“You owe me one more time!” she claimed he screamed at her. She said she begged him not to take off her clothes, but he said, “I don’t have time for games,” and allegedly ripped off her pants before pushing her legs apart and raping her.
Mann was grilled on Monday about emails that continued after those alleged attacks. From the emails, it appeared the witness was still cutting Weinstein’s hair in early 2014. In one January 2014 email, he wrote her: “That’s the best hair cut and trim I’ve gotten. I’ve gotten a million compliments. Thank you.”
She wrote back: “Your the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!! But thank you that makes me so happy to hear :)”
Rotunno asked Mann whether she was trying to make Weinstein “believe that you cared about him.”
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“I did want him to think that I was naive and safe and not a threat," she responded.
“But you’re not naive, are you?” Rotunno asked.
“I’m observant but I’m not that smart,” she replied.
Mann later read from a lengthy confessional email she sent to her then-boyfriend in May 2014 about her relationship with Weinstein. “Harvey was my father’s age and he gave me all the validation I needed at that time," she said as she choked up, adding, “I tried to make him a pseudo father."
She began weeping uncontrollably after reading a passage attempting to explain that she had submitted to Weinstein’s sexual advances because she had been sexually assaulted when she was younger. She was still crying after an eight-minute break when the judge cut the day short.
Weinstein, 67, appeared to be sleeping at times during the emotional testimony, closing his eyes and drooping his head in his chair at the defense table. A juror also dozed off for a spell, prompting a scolding from judge.
Asked why he was sleeping as he left the courtroom, Weinstein scowled at a reporter: “Oh please.”
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The testimony comes at a pivotal moment in the trial of Weinstein, whose downfall energized the #MeToo movement. He is charged in New York with the 2013 rape and also sexually assaulting Mimi Haleyi, a former “Project Runway” production assistant, in 2006. A conviction could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Weinstein has insisted that any sexual encounters were consensual. His lawyers aim to raise doubts about the rape accuser's credibility by seizing on her complicated history with the former film producer.
Mann caused a stir Friday when, after being asked by a prosecutor to describe Weinstein’s body, she said that when she first saw him naked, she noticed “extreme scarring” and thought he had characteristics of both male and female genitalia.
"When I first saw him, I was filled with compassion, absolute compassion," she said, adding, “It seemed his anger came from a place of pain.”
Fox News' Marta Dhanis and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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