<\/p>\n
Publicist Haleigh Breest recalls feeling \u201cabsolutely paralysed and terrified\u201d when the Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis allegedly raped her at his Manhattan flat in January 2013.<\/p>\n
Haggis\u2019s civil rape trial continued on Thursday in a Lower Manhattan courtroom as Breest testified that the director raped her after she reluctantly went to his Soho flat following a movie premiere.<\/p>\n
Breest was working at the event, which Haggis attended as a guest. Despite saying she wasn\u2019t interested in him, Haggis kissed her against her will and took Breest into a bedroom where he forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her, Breest recounted to jurors during her six-hour testimony.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying no. I\u2019m saying stop. I\u2019m saying it over and over,\u201d Breest recalled of that night, reports \u201cVariety\u201d.<\/p>\n
Watch video:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHe looked like the devil. He seemed to like that I was saying no; that I was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n Breest described feeling \u201cabsolutely paralysed and terrified\u201d when Haggis allegedly removed his clothes and told her to \u201cput my d**k in your mouth\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think there was a way to escape,\u201d Breest told the jurors. After the alleged assault took place, Breest says she \u201cpretended to fall asleep so it would stop\u201d and then actually fell asleep before waking up the next morning in Haggis\u2019s guest bedroom.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like a trapped animal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was nothing for me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Breest testified that she and Haggis had previously interacted at film premieres and briefly corresponded via email prior to that night, which the defendant allegedly interpreted as flirting.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was never any romantic conversation,\u201d Breest, who was 26 when the alleged assault took place, told the jurors. \u201cHe\u2019s older than my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n Before January 2013, Breest said she admired Haggis, an accomplished writer and director whose credits include \u201cCrash\u201d, \u201cMillion Dollar Baby\u201d and \u201cCasino Royale\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe seemed friendly at events,\u201d she said. \u201cHe treated everyone with respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Breest testified, \u201cI didn\u2019t understand how someone I knew could be a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.\u201d<\/p>\n Haggis, 69, does not deny the two had sex, but he maintains the encounter was consensual. His legal team is arguing the rape charge came in retaliation for Haggis\u2019s decision to leave and then publicly criticise the Church of Scientology. <\/p>\n Haggis, a long-time member, had parted with Scientology in 2009 over its opposition to gay marriage. He has long alleged that leaders of the controversial religion were trying to \u201cfind dirt\u201d on him before the rape allegation was levelled.<\/p>\n \u201cScientology is very successful at destroying its enemies without leaving a single fingerprint behind,\u201d defence attorney Priya Chaudhry told the jurors in opening remarks. <\/p>\n She alleges her client was targeted by the church because he \u201cdid not leave quietly\u201d.<\/p>\n Breest\u2019s attorney on Wednesday refuted that the plaintiff has a connection to the church. \u201cHaleigh Breest has nothing to do with Scientology. Scientology has nothing to do with this case.\u201d<\/p>\n A portion of Breest\u2019s testimony focused on text messages and phone conversations with friends in the days and weeks following the alleged assault.<\/p>\n Breest\u2019s attorney brought up one text message that reads, \u201cI gave so much head I feel like sick right now\u201d.<\/p>\n Breest elaborated on Thursday, saying she \u201cfelt physically sick from being assaulted\u2019. Her friend later responded, \u201dHe took advantage of you\u201c, to which Breest replied, \u201dAnd I kept saying no.\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cPowerful men don\u2019t understand the word no. They don\u2019t accept the word no,\u201d Breest told the jurors.<\/p>\n Breest and Haggis sporadically corresponded over email in the months following the incident because she felt pressure to \u201cmake sure things were going to be as normal as possible at work\u201d.<\/p>\n Breest repeatedly testified that following the alleged assault, she was \u201cvery upset to be victimised\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI was having a hard time accepting it,\u201d she told jurors. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be a rape victim.\u201d<\/p>\n Related video:<\/strong><\/p>\n Breest did not file a lawsuit until December 2017 after Haggis condemned Harvey Weinstein in the press after the producer was accused of sexual assault in 2017.<\/p>\n The \u201chypocrisy made her blood boil\u201d, Breest\u2019s attorney Zoe Salzman told the jury on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Breest elaborated, \u201cI want Paul Haggis to be held accountable that what he did to me was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n After her lawsuit was filed, Breest alleges she wasn\u2019t hired again by The Cinema Society, where she worked as a freelance film publicist for years. The Cinema Society hosted the event in January 2013, and Breest said her boss at The Cinema Society, Andrew Saffir, is friends with Haggis.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s lengthy testimony ended with Breest\u2019s attorney referencing an email that Breest sent to Saffir on March 21, 2018, in which she wrote, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be punished or lose work because I stood up for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n