New Weinstein accuser: He 'orally forced' himself

A new alleged victim of Harvey Weinstein's has come forward with her story, adding her name to the more than 50 women who have accused Hollywood's formerly most powerful man of sexual harassment and assault.

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Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant, claimed that Weinstein "orally forced himself" on her while she was on her period during a visit to his New York City apartment. The alleged sexual assault happened in 2006 when she was in her 20s. Haleyi read a detailed statement during a press conference in New York City on Tuesday, where she was joined by her attorney Gloria Allred.

Haleyi says she met Weinstein at the London premiere of The Aviator in 2004 and later ran into him again at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. "I was planning to spend some time in New York so I asked Harvey if I could help on any of his productions there," she said about pursing production work. She says he told her, "Why don't you come and see me at my hotel and we'll talk about it?"

Haleyi says went to the hotel where his production company, The Weinstein Co., was setup at Cannes and was "escorted up to Harvey's room by an assistant who left." After a few minutes, she says he asked her to give him a massage. She declined and suggested he contact hotel reception. She added, "He kept asking about massages and so I felt the meeting was going nowhere and I left."

She added, "By that time, I was crying and felt completely humiliated and stupid about having a meeting with him."

He later got back in touch and arranged for her to help on one of his New York television show sets, (Allred would not reveal which name). "I didn't see or speak to him until shooting was over," she said, adding that he emailed him a thank you note. He said she was welcome back next season and suggested they meet in New York City's Mercer Hotel lobby for a chat, where she says he was a "complete gentlemen and completely charming."

Women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of

She later had a "normal conversation" when seeing him days later at TWC's Tribeca offices. He offered her to come with him to Paris, she said, and wanted to fly her private and put her up at the Ritz Carlton. She declined because it seemed of a "romantic nature" and she says he "didn't like that answer." He continued to call her and showed up to her East Village apartment twice in one day, she said, "forcing" himself into her apartment with another Paris invite.

"I finally said, 'I'm not coming to Paris with you and I hear you have a terrible reputation with women,'" she said. "That's when he backed off."

She later said that she had hoped to continue a professional relationship after this point, but felt she made it clear that she wasn't interested in anything beyond that. "Whenever you mention Harvey's name to anyone in the industry, you'd often be met with eyerolls. But there was no indication he was doing anything criminal or that he was actually forcing himself on anyone," she also clarified about his reputation.

She continued to say that Weinstein did get in touch with her when he returned from Paris, inviting her to his home in SoHo. She says she agreed to "maintain a relationship." He sent a car to get her, which had a copy of the New York Post with him on the cover, a photo of Weinstein and then-girlfriend Georgina Chapman in Paris. "I wonder if it had been strategically placed there," she said.

She said she was escorted up to his apartment and it was not long before he was "all over me making sexual advances." She continued, "I told him 'no, no no,' but he insisted."

Haleyi says she then told him she was on her period and that there was "no way" anything was going to happen. "Please stop," she recalls saying.

"He wouldn't take no for an answer and backed me into a room which was not lit, but looked like a kid's bedroom with drawings on the walls," she said. "He held me down on the bed, I tried to get him off of me but it was impossible. He was extremely persistent and physically overpowering."

She continued, "He then orally forced himself on me while I was on my period. He even pulled my tampon out. I was in disbelief. I would not have wanted anyone to do that with me even if the person had been a romantic partner."

Near tears, she added, "I remember Harvey after rolling onto his back afterwards saying, 'Don't you think we are so much closer to each other now?' To which I replied, 'No.'"

Allred said Haleyi, who is no longer in the entertainment industry, has not gone to police because the incident may not be within the statue of limitations, but "may be relevant information to have as Weinstein is investigated." She added, "They may or may not be interested in calling others as witnesses if he is charged with any crime or crimes, which he has not yet been."

Ahead of the presser, Allred described Tuesday's allegation as a "new low" for Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual harassment and assault, including multiple allegations of rape, ever since reports in both The New York Times and The New Yorker first exposed his alleged years of misconduct and predatory behavior earlier this month.

On Monday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman launched an investigation into Weinstein, who is already under investigation by the NYPD, LAPD and London police.

Allred is a women's rights advocate who is currently taking on both Bill Cosby and President Donald Trump in court. Allred most recently held a news conference with Weinstein accuser Louisette Geiss, who alleged the Hollywood producer sexually harassed her at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Allred's daughter, attorney Lisa Bloom, was initially part of Weinstein's legal team until she dropped the disgraced movie mogul as a client on Oct. 7. When that business relationship was first announced, however, Allred had made it clear that she had no issue about the possibility of facing off with her daughter in court in order to represent the accusers.

"Obviously, that doesn’t feel good," Bloom told The Hollywood Reporter of Allred's public statements. Adding of why she took on Weinstein, "I wasn’t defending his behavior. I was advising him to immediately apologize and that’s what he did. Perhaps that was too fine of a distinction for people to appreciate."

Most recently, actresses Brit Marling, Lupita Nyong'o and Sean Young joined Kate Beckinsale, Cara Delevingne, Minka Kelly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and many other Hollywood stars to come forward with their own harrowing accounts with Weinstein.

Weinstein has unequivocally denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex and any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. He has yet to comment on Tuesday's claim.