The testimony of Mel Gibson on an interaction he had with one of Harvey Weinstein’s victims has been approved.
However, despite a lawyer’s plea, the 66-year-old actor is unable to answer questions concerning his prior anti-Semitic statements.
Before the “Braveheart” actor was scheduled to testify before a jury about a discussion he had with a masseuse, who is one of Weinstein’s newest claimed victims to come forward against the disgraced Hollywood mogul, Judge Lisa B. Lench announced the decisions on Friday.
At the beginning of Weinstein’s most recent trial in Los Angeles, where he is facing 11 accusations of rape and sexual assault, Weinstein’s attorneys disputed Gibson’s participation.
They said Gibson could be prejudiced towards Weinstein, who is Jewish, as a result of his notorious anti-Semitic comments from 2006 and 2010.
However, Judge Lench determined that it didn’t really matter what the “Lethal Weapon” actor could have said to the masseuse, who would be referred to as Jane Doe #3 during the proceedings, in his evidence.
Weinstein, 70, is charged with restraining the lady and committing sexual violence.
In May 2010, after receiving a massage from the lady at a Beverly Hills hotel in California, according to the prosecution, Weinstein followed her into the bathroom and performed a sex act on himself while still nude.
“Any proof of Mr. Gibson’s racism or anti-Semitism would give rise to a prejudice against my client, who confronted him,” Weinstein’s attorney Mark Werksman said in favor of Gibson being questioned about his anti-Semitic statements.
Even though Gibson’s earlier remarks were “despicable,” according to Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez, they had no bearing on the issue of what he knew about his chat with the masseuse.
In his latest trial, Weinstein has entered a not guilty plea and refuted any non-consensual sexual behavior.
The state’s highest court has agreed to hear his appeal in that case, and he is now serving a 23-year term for a 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault in New York.
Five years after a number of women’s accounts of Weinstein’s behavior sparked the #MeToo movement, the defendant was extradited to Los Angeles for a trial that started on Monday, October 10.
The court and counsel will resume the jury selection process on Monday morning, October 17, and the trial is scheduled to run eight weeks. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin on October 24.