Harvey Weinstein LA trial: Judge advises jurors not to watch trailer for 'She Said'. Here's why

The judge in the ongoing Los Angeles sexual assault trial against Harvey Weinstein has advised the jury not to watch the trailer for 'She Said', reported Deadline. The upcoming Maria Schrader directorial is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by the New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. It that explores allegations of rape and sexual harassment by dozens of actresses and other women against Weinstein, who was then one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. Already serving a 23-year sentence in an earlier New York trial, Weinstein now faces 11 more charges, including rape and sexual battery, in an LA court.

Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, the film features Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan in the lead roles of Kantor and Twohey. Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, and Samantha Morton also star. Ashley Judd appears as herself.

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Judge Lisa Lench told the jury of nine men and three women to not watch the trailer. This was after Weinstein's attorneys tried to delay the case citing concern that the marketing of the film might influence jurors.

'She Said' is set to be released on November 18.

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The first woman to testify against Weinstein in the LA trial was a model and actor based in Rome who has accused him of sexually assaulting him in 2013. She claimed that she was staying in a hotel under a pseudonym and was surprised to find Weinstein knocking on her doors. She didn't think much of it, but then Weinstein began to get sexually aggressive. She said that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him.

In the opening arguments, Weinstein's attorney Mark Werksman aimed to discredit the testifying women, saying they are actors and will do a job on the witness stand. And the job, he said, will be to fit the narrative of the #MeToo movement.

The defence argument continued by saying that every sexual encounter of the women with Weinstein was consensual and something that they are embarrassed about so they are lying now.

He rued the fact that the #MeToo movement was "Hollywood's Chernobyl" that has turned Weinstein into a "smouldering radioactive" bad guy.