

Kaja Sokola, a former model from Poland, testified Thursday at Harvey Weinstein’s retrial in Manhattan. She alleged Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2002 and in 2006. Sokola recounted the alleged 2006 assault, which allegedly occurred when she was 19 years old, days before her 20th birthday. Prior to the alleged incident, Sokola and her older sister met Weinstein for lunch at a restaurant in a Tribeca hotel. Sokola said she wanted to show her sister that she knew a “real producer” that would allegedly help her acting career.
During the lunch, Weinstein allegedly mentioned he had scripts upstairs in a hotel room, so Sokola allegedly took the elevator up with him while her sister waited in the restaurant. When District Attorney Shannon Lucey asked if Sokola had any intention of engaging in anything romantic or sexual with Weinstein, she answered, “No.”
When they entered the hotel room, Sokola claimed that Weinstein allegedly pushed her onto the bed causing her to land in a seated position. She told the courtroom, “I was trying to resist — to not fall down on the bed completely.” However, Sokola ended up on her back after Weinstein allegedly pushed her a second time. She said he also allegedly took off her boots, stockings and underwear while she told him “Please don’t. Please stop. I don’t want this.” Sokola says he didn’t listen and alleges he pinned her to the bed instead. “I couldn’t move under him,” she said.
Allegedly Weinstein also pushed her dress up. “He forced himself on my vagina and he raped me,” Sokola said, clarifying that his tongue and mouth were on her vagina. She said she didn’t kick or punch him, but was allegedly trying to push him away and was unable to because of his weight. She said she “felt completely numb” in the moment. “My hope just died,” she said, referring to what she felt when she realized she couldn’t get out of the incident.
After Weinstein finished allegedly performing oral sex on Sokola, she claimed he allegedly told her “You see? That wasn’t so difficult.” She got dressed and took the elevator back down to meet her sister. Sokola noted he allegedly didn’t have any movie scripts or other paperwork, and that there was never a discussion about a script.
Sokola also mentioned she allegedly had no bruises or scratches on her body, and her stockings had no holes or tears. She said she didn’t tell her sister about the alleged incident in the hotel room, because she believed Weinstein could launch her acting career, and she cared deeply about her sister’s and family’s opinions. “I tried to pretend that nothing ever happened,” Sokola said. She added that she blamed herself for the alleged incident, mainly her own “stupidity” for putting herself in that situation.
Sokola also recalled allegedly meeting Weinstein for the first time in 2002, when she was 16 years old. She allegedly gave him her phone number so they could have lunch to discuss her film aspirations. He allegedly brought her to his SoHo apartment instead.
Sokola recalled that they were allegedly alone in his apartment, and allegedly followed him into a bathroom after he allegedly told her to. The prosecution asked why she complied, her response was that she didn’t know what to do, she was only 16 and “alone with a man for the first time.” She tearfully added, “He was so many years older than me.”
Sokola sobbed and told the courtroom, “I felt stupid, and I felt ashamed.” She also claimed that before entering the bathroom she was allegedly only wearing a bra, jeans and underwear after Weinstein allegedly told her to take her clothes off. “He told me to take my clothes off, and I didn’t want to do that. I was panicking,” Sokola testified. She said Weinstein allegedly told her that actors are sometimes asked to appear nude in films and she should “get used to it” if she wanted a career in the industry. She also claimed that inside the bathroom, Weinstein’s pants and underwear were allegedly pulled down to his knees.
Sokola then described the alleged incident in the bathroom. “He put a hand up my vagina — under my underwear — and he took my hand and put it on his penis,” she said. Sokola said she allegedly had contact with Weinstein again in 2004, hoping he could still help her acting career. During the meeting, that allegedly took place in his car, he allegedly attempted to put his hands on her breasts. In early 2006, he allegedly offered her a role as an extra in the film The Nanny Diaries, Weinstein was allegedly not present on set. Later that year, her next interaction with him was allegedly during the lunch meeting at the Tribeca hotel with Weinstein and her sister.