Marlene Martinez: Last News

One of Harvey Weinstein’s former personal assistants, who was mentioned prominently in accuser Ashley M.’s testimony, took the witness stand today in the disgraced former mogul’s sexual assault trial in Los Angeles, saying she has “no recollection of meeting [Ashley M.] in Puerto Rico.”

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein could face up to 24 years in prison when he is sentenced for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles on Thursday. The movie mogul was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe One, after a trial in December. The woman said the incident happened after Weinstein appeared uninvited at her hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent A judge ruled Thursday that no additional victims — beyond the one woman whose testimony was the basis for Harvey Weinstein’s conviction — will be able to give victim impact statements at Weinstein’s sentencing next week. The ruling comes amid calls from attorney Gloria Allred to allow more victims to speak at the sentencing, which she says is the “right of a victim.” Allred represented three women in Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial, and has argued that all women involved in the case, regardless of the verdict, should be able to speak at the sentencing to let their voice be heard and provide relevant information for the court to consider. At the Thursday hearing, prosecutors Paul Thompson and Marlene Martinez asked the judge to hear from Allred in court.

(Updated with LA DA response) As expected, Harvey Weinstein’s defense team have moved to ask for a new West Coast trial for the incarnated producer. In a risky move, the Oscar winner’s Werkman Jackson & Quinn attorneys are putting the credibility of Jane Doe #1 and the LA County District Attorney’s office at the heart of their attack

“In 2005, who would have thought that the most powerful man in Hollywood was a closet rapist?” LA County Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez asked jurors today in Harvey Weinstein’s West Coast rape trial. “Who could blame her for thinking that she could handle herself,” the prosecutor queried over now California First Partner and trial Jane Doe #4 Jennifer Siebel Newsom in her closing argument.

Mel Gibson will not be taking the strand in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial.

The long-delayed Los Angeles rape trial of disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein will begin Monday after a jury was selected today in a downtown courtroom.

Maane Khatchatourian News Editor, Variety.com Former reality star Holly Madison won’t be called to testify during Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles rape trial, a judge ruled on Tuesday. The defense wanted Madison to take the stand in order to undermine testimony from actress Ashley Matthau, one of the uncharged supporting witnesses. Matthau, who’s accusing Weinstein of sexual battery, claims the former mogul masturbated on her at his hotel in 2003 in Puerto Rico, where they were shooting Miramax’s “Dirty Dancing” sequel, “Havana Nights.”  Madison, who dated and lived with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner from 2001 to 2008, is close friends with Matthau. The defense intended on questioning her about the two partying together at the Playboy Mansion to prove that Matthau wasn’t a “young, sexually inexperienced naif” who was unfamiliar with “the ways of Hollywood.”

Mel Gibson has been cleared to testify about a conversation he had with one of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers. But the actor, 66, cannot be questioned on the stand about his previous anti-Semitic remarks as a lawyer requested. Judge Lisa B Lench made the rulings on Friday (14.

Mel Gibson can be called to testify against Harvey Weinstein in the disgraced movie mogul's rape and sexual assault trial.Judge Lisa B. Lench ruled that prosecutors can call the actor to the witness stand to corroborate allegations made by Jane Doe 3, who claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her after giving him a message at his hotel back in 2010.

Actor Mel Gibson can testify in Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault and rape trial, Judge Lisa B. Lench ruled on Friday. Lench ruled that Gibson can testify about what he learned from one of Weinstein's accusers.

Maane Khatchatourian News Editor, Variety.com Mel Gibson can be called to testify against Harvey Weinstein at the producer’s upcoming Los Angeles rape trial, a judge ruled on Friday. Prosecutors want to call the actor to support the allegations of Jane Doe 3, who claims that Weinstein sexually assaulted her after she gave him a massage at his hotel in 2010. According to Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez, the woman later told Gibson about the incident during a massage, and Gibson’s testimony would help buttress her allegation. Judge Lisa B. Lench allowed prosecutors to call Gibson to the stand. She also denied a defense request that they be allowed to ask Gibson about racist and antisemitic statements he has made over the years. But the defense will be allowed to ask whether Gibson holds a grudge against Weinstein.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent Jury selection in Harvey Weinstein’s trial is officially underway. Weinstein, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault in his New York trial in 2020, faces 11 new charges in Los Angeles in a trial that began Monday morning at the criminal courthouse in downtown L.A. Nine women are expected to testify in a trial that could effectively put Weinstein behind bars for life, if convicted. Weinstein — whose monumental fall was the fuse the ignited the #MeToo movement — is already serving a 23-year sentence from his 2020 conviction where Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sexual act. The New York Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in that state, has agreed to hear his case. Weinstein was extradited in July 2021 to L.A. from N.Y., where he was serving his sentence.