Harvey Weinstein vs. The People: Italian Actress Raped By Producer Recounts Ordeal

• Italian actress, Evgeniya Chernyshova recounts being raped by Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein.

• Harvey Weinstein was one of the big names who got cancelled in the Hollywood scene following the Me2movement that unearthed some sexual scandals within the industry.

• In addition to the sentence he faces, Weinstein faces additional 16-year sentencing in prison for sexual misconducts.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Evgeniya Chernyshova, a 43-year-old Italian actress who was previously known as ‘Jane Doe 1’, has come forward as the victim of Harvey Weinstein’s 2013 rape in Beverly Hills.

Speaking out for the first time in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chernyshova revealed her identity and shared her harrowing story.

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The news comes a day after Weinstein was sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison in Los Angeles, on top of his previous 23-year sentence in New York. Chernyshova was one of several women who testified against Weinstein during his trial in Los Angeles.

Chernyshova recounted how Weinstein showed up uninvited at her hotel room at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel in 2013 and raped her. She had previously been referred to as ‘Jane Doe 1’ in court documents to protect her identity.

In the interview, Chernyshova said she was tired of hiding and wanted her life back.

“I’m Evgeniya, I’ve been raped. This is my story. Part of me, I’m fearing for my future. But I’m proud of myself. If I continue to hide, I cannot do anything. I will just be there with my pain,” she said.

Weinstein’s conviction in New York and subsequent sentencing in Los Angeles marked a significant victory for the #MeToo movement, which was sparked by the allegations against Weinstein in 2017. Since then, hundreds of women have come forward with their own stories of harassment and assault in the entertainment industry and beyond.

Chernyshova’s decision to reveal her identity and speak out about her experience adds to the growing chorus of voices demanding accountability for sexual misconduct.

Chernyshova grew up in Siberia but had moved to Italy and was living there with her husband at the time of the attack. She was in Los Angeles for a business trip when Weinstein showed up uninvited at her hotel room at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel.

In the interview, Chernyshova shared the details of the horrifying experience. Weinstein told her through the door:

“Hey, it’s Harvey Weinstein. Open the door. We have to talk. I’m not going to f**k you, I just have to talk to you.” They had met just twice before; once in Rome, and earlier that day at an event. Chernyshova allowed him to come inside, and that decision is something she regrets to this day.

“He just walked through me and went directly to the chair. He was like, ‘We’re just talking. There’s nothing happening. Why are you so nervous?’ Something clicked, like a change in his eyes. I realized that something was wrong,” Chernyshova said.

Weinstein proceeded to assault her in the bedroom and then dragged her to the bathroom, where he raped her.

“I felt very, very dirty and like I have to die,” she said. After the rape, Chernyshova and her husband separated, and he has since died. She later moved to the United States with her children.

Chernyshova, who now runs a florist in Los Angeles, shared that she had been living in fear and hiding from the public eye for too long.

“I’m tired of hiding. I want my life back. I’m Evgeniya, I’ve been raped. This is my story. Part of me, I’m fearing for my future. But I’m proud of myself. If I continue to hide, I cannot do anything. I will just be there with my pain,” she said.

Weinstein was already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York for rape and sexual assault charges, and the additional 16-year sentence in Los Angeles is for assaulting five women from 2004 to 2013. The case brought by Chernyshova was one of the five, and her courage in coming forward has been hailed as a triumph for the #MeToo movement.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, 39-year-old Ksenia Chernyshova described feeling “out of [her] mind” and “mentally not stable” after the alleged assault took place.

Chernyshova, who was then the 21-year-old reigning Miss Moscow, said that Weinstein lured her to his hotel room by saying that he had important information for her career. Once they were alone, she alleges that Weinstein pushed her onto the bed, pulled off her clothes, and raped her.

“I was hating myself. I was thinking all the time, ‘There were a lot of beautiful women and stars there, and he chose you. So it’s you who did something,'” Chernyshova said.

She also recounted the story of her daughter, Maria, who was 16 when she told her mother that she had been sexually assaulted by a boy at school. Chernyshova initially resisted Maria’s plea to go to the police, telling her that she wouldn’t understand what she was going through. But Maria responded that she did understand, because she had been raped herself. The two women made a pact to both report their abusers.

Chernyshova had begun consulting with a lawyer about her own case when The New York Times broke the first story of Weinstein’s abuse of women in Hollywood in 2017. She chose to remain anonymous throughout the trial in an effort to protect her children’s privacy.

Now, however, she says that she feels it is important to speak out.

“If I had been more open, maybe it would have stopped earlier,” she said. “Maybe if more people had talked about it, this would have stopped years ago.”

Weinstein, who is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault, has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Chernyshova said that she had remained silent about the assault out of shame and humiliation, and to protect her children. But she now regrets her decision, saying that it had caused her to feel cut off from everyone.

Chernyshova testified in Weinstein’s New York trial from afar, awaiting her own day in court, which came this year. She described the experience as the “worst experience of her life,” and said that the defense lawyers’ techniques were brutal.

During the trial, Weinstein’s lawyer questioned why Chernyshova had posted a photo from a film festival after the alleged assault, in which she appeared smiling next to Al Pacino. Chernyshova said that the lawyer was trying to make her look not credible.

Chernyshova’s testimony led to her claim being the only one that was convicted among four. The jury acquitted Weinstein on one other allegation and failed to reach a verdict on the other two. Despite Weinstein’s denial, Chernyshova believes all of the women who testified and considers his conviction a victory for them all.

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Weinstein was found guilty of rape and two other counts of sexual assault at a trial in Los Angeles in December 2021 after previously being sentenced in 2020 for sex crimes in New York City. At his sentencing, he accused Chernyshova of lying, calling her a “made-up story.”

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