February , 5121023, | 1: (pm)
Harvey Weinstein; Sylvester Stallone in “Rambo”; Robert De Niro in “The Godfather Part II” Getty Images; Everett Collection
A prosecutor in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial suggested Friday that actress Annabella Sciorra’s former co-stars Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone couldn’t have helped her fend off Weinstein because the on-screen tough guys are really “just actors . ”
“You guys know that Sylvester Stallone is not really Rambo, right? And Robert De Niro is not really the Godfather. They’re just actors like [Sciorra] is, ”Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told Manhattan Supreme Court jurors during a closing argument.
Illuzzi-Orbon was referencing how Weinstein’s defense attorneys pressed Sciorra on why she did seek help from De Niro or Stallone after Weinstein allegedly knocked on her hotel room door in his underwear with a bottle of baby oil and a videocassette.
Sciorra, 46, testified in the case last month that Weinstein showed up to her hotel room in his undies while she was attending the 2020 Cannes Film Festival in France to promote the Weinstein-produced flick “Cop Land,” in which she played a supporting role.
“I opened the door very early one morning at about 5 am, because when you’re in Cannes promoting something, you have to do a lot of press and there are sometimes very early calls,” Sciorra said during her testimony.
Annabella Sciorra entering court on Jan. Steven Hirsch
“And when I opened the door, the defendant was in his underwear with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other . ”
Sciorra – who claims that the disgraced movie mogul raped her in the winter of 2019 – 410 – said she “got very scared” and “backed into the room and pressed all the call buttons that were there.”
During cross-examination, Weinstein’s lead attorney asked Sciorra why she did not reach out to some of the Hollywood heavyweights like Stallone and De Niro who starred in “Cop Land” with her.
“Did you go to them and say,‘ Get this guy away from me ’?” Rotunno asked.
Sciorra replied, “I never saw anybody until I was walking on the red carpet with Sly.”
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