Harvey Weinstein's lawyers grill ex-model who says he sexually assaulted her in her teens

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's lawyers sought Friday to raise doubts about an ex-model's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in her teens, portraying her as a wannabe actor who tried to leverage the former studio boss.

“You believed that if you had consensual sex with Mr. Weinstein, you’d get your foot in the door and become a movie star,” defense lawyer Mike Cibella said.

“No, that’s not what happened,” Kaja Sokola responded. “I never had a consensual relation with Mr. Weinstein.”

Throughout a day of questioning, Cibella sought to suggest that Sokola hadn't told the full story of her interactions with Weinstein. At one point, Cibella repeatedly asked whether she invited Weinstein up to a New York apartment — and into the bedroom — where she was staying in 2005. She denied it.

“I didn’t want any shortcuts from Mr. Weinstein. I wanted him to be honest with me,” Sokola testified at a later point, her voice growing heated.

She said the Oscar-winning producer promised to help her fulfill her acting ambitions but instead “broke my dreams, and he broke my self-esteem."

The Polish psychotherapist has accused Weinstein of repeatedly sexually abusing her when she was a teenage fashion model. Some of those allegations are beyond the legal time limit for criminal charges, but Weinstein faces a criminal sex act charge over Sokola's claim that he forced oral sex on her in 2006.

Prosecutors added the charge to the landmark #MeToo case last year, after an appeals court overturned Weinstein's 2020 conviction. The guilty verdict pertained to allegations from two other women, who also have testified or are expected at the retrial.

Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty and denies ever sexually assaulting anyone.

The Polish-born Sokola, 39, had a jet-setting modeling career as a teen. She testified earlier this week that Weinstein exploited her youthful interest in an acting career to subject her to unwanted sexual advances, starting days after they met in 2002, while she was a 16-year-old on a modeling trip to New York.

She told jurors that four years later, when she was 19, Weinstein lured her to a hotel room by saying he had a script for her to see, then pinned her down on a bed and performed oral sex on her as she implored him not to.

Sokola never got a full-fledged role in a Weinstein movie, though he did arrange for her to be an extra in 2007's “The Nanny Diaries.” Her scene ultimately got cut, she said.

His company also wrote her a recommendation letter to an acting school. She said she hadn't been able to afford it.

Sokola sued Weinstein several years ago over the alleged 2002 incident, and she ultimately received about $3.5 million in compensation. Her suits never mentioned the alleged 2006 assault. She testified Thursday that she'd had a tougher time coming to terms with it than she did with the alleged 2002 sex abuse.

Cibella underscored the omission, and he suggested that she sued to gain financial independence and be able to leave her now-estranged husband. On the contrary, she said, she was working two jobs and out-earning him.

Cibella also pointed to differences in some details of Sokola's testimony this week and what she told a grand jury last year, including the month of the alleged 2002 sexual abuse. The attorney further noted that Sokola is pursuing various legal pathways to stay in the U.S. long-term, and her involvement in the criminal case could help with one of them.

Sokola is expected to continue testifying next week.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who allege they have been sexually assaulted, but Sokola has given her permission to be identified.

Kaja Sokola walks outside court during Harvey Weinstein's trial at state court in Manhattan, Friday, May 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Harvey Weinstein appears in state court in Manhattan for his retrial on Friday, May 9, 2025 in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Harvey Weinstein appears in state court in Manhattan for his retrial on Friday, May 9, 2025 in New York. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

Kaja Sokola arrives at Manhattan criminal court before Harvey Weinstein's trial on Thursday, May 8, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Harvey Weinstein accuser Kaja Sokola begins testimony in his sexual misconduct trial in New York, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)