The criminal trial against Harvey Weinstein has begun, and for his dozens of accusers, it’s a moment that’s been a long time in the making. The disgraced film mogul is currently facing charges of rape and criminal sex acts based on the allegations of two women. However, several women will testify in the trial in an effort to demonstrate a pattern of predatory and abusive behavior.

On Thursday, one such testimony was delivered by actress Annabella Sciorra, who took to the witness stand to say that Weinstein raped her. According to The New York Times, Sciorra testified that the assault happened in her New York City apartment, which Weinstein forcibly entered, in late 1993 or early 1994. 

“I was trying to get him off me,” Sciorra told the jury. “I was punching him, kicking him. He got on top of me and he raped me.” 

In graphic detail, she recounted the night of the attack to those in the courtroom. She described attending a group dinner with Weinstein at a Manhattan restaurant. Ultimately, he offered to give her a ride home. When she got there, she went about her business and began getting ready to go to bed. Then, someone knocked on her door. Sciorra testified that she thought it was a neighbor or her doorman, but it turned out to be Weinstein, who proceeded to push past her and enter her apartment. 

Before she could get away, he grabbed her, took her to a bedroom, and raped her, she said. “I was just shaking like a seizure — I don’t know how else to describe it,” Sciorra testified. “I woke up, but I’m not sure if I fainted, blacked out or fell asleep.” 

When a prosecutor asked her why she didn’t call the police to report the assault, she explained that the experience had left her feeling “confused.” “He was someone I knew,” Sciorra explained. “I felt at the time that rape was something that happened in a back alleyway in a dark place.”

Earlier this month, several Weinstein accusers stood outside the Manhattan courthouse where his trial is taking place to share their stories. Before Weinstein walked in, they stood in a designated penned-off area holding signs that read “Listen to Survivors.” Weinstein, flanked by bodyguards and his legal team, avoided looking at them as he made his way into the courthouse, with his walker in tow.

In total, Weinstein faces five counts of predatory sexual assault, criminal sex acts, and rape, for allegedly forcibly performing oral sex on former Weinstein Co. production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and the alleged 2013 rape of another woman, who has remained anonymous, in a hotel room. Although Sciorra’s alleged assault falls outside New York State’s statute of limitations, her testimony is certain to play a powerful role in determining Weinstein’s fate. 

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Michelle Carter, a Massachusetts woman who urged her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself in dozens of text messages, has been released from jail early. On Thursday, she walked out of the Bristol County jail alongside corrections officers who were carrying clear garbage bags containing her belongings. 

Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2017 for encouraging her then-boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to die by suicide. In text messages she sent him in 2014, she told him to “get back in” a truck that was filled with toxic gas. At the time, Carter was 17 when her 18-year-old boyfriend was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

During the original sentencing, Carter faced up to 20 years in prison. Ultimately, she was sentenced to 15 months in jail and five years probation. Her trial garnered a lot of media attention due to the direct, insistent tone of her text messages. “The time is right and you are ready … just do it babe,” Carter wrote in a text the day he died by suicide.

In yet another text, she came across as frustrated that Roy hadn’t acted yet. “You can’t think about it,” she wrote. “You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t.”

Carter’s early release comes 10 days after the United States Supreme Court said it wouldn’t take up her appeal to overturn her conviction and less than a year after she received her 15-month sentence. According to NBC Boston, the Massachusetts Parole Board originally denied her request for an early release last September. However, she is now being released about three months early because of “good behavior,” including participating in Bible study and keeping a job in the prison kitchen. 

The high-profile case was featured in a documentary, I Love You, Now Die, which premiered at SXSW and aired on HBO last year. The filmmaker, Erin Lee Carr, told Refinery29 that she had followed Carter’s story from the beginning. 

“There was genuine franticness about the volume [of texts],” Carr said. “We had a record, in real time, of the degradation of two people’s mental state as primary evidence. As a documentary filmmaker, you can’t really get better than that because you knew at the time what people were thinking. I hope this film sparks debate about girlhood and mental illness and loneliness.” 

Carter’s suicide by text charge brought to light a conversation about technology and mental illness, and wasn’t the only case with these types of charges in recent years. Another Massachusetts woman, Inyoung You, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter last November. Like Carter, she faces the charges for allegedly encouraging her boyfriend via text message to die by suicide. However, that case has proved to be more muddled than Carter’s, as new texts from the last conversation between You and her boyfriend appear to show that she actually attempted to discourage him from going through with it at the last minute.

Most recently, You’s defense team has accused the prosecution of asserting “many inaccuracies — even falsehoods,” according to the Boston Herald. You is set to next appear in court on Feb. 20 for a continuation of the pretrial hearing.

If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please get help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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Amidst all of the buzz around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s departure from the royal family, Kate Middleton was spotted yesterday tending to her royal duties wearing a black turtleneck with a pleated leopard print skirt from Zara. While the skirt is not currently listed on the Zara website (sad face), according to multiple outlets, it cost $13. Though the price tag and outfit choice might come as a shock to some, this isn’t the first time the Duchess of Cambridge has worn a Zara item. In fact, one might even go as far as to call her a Zara superfan.

Earlier this month, Kate wore a houndstooth dress by the brand that originally cost $129 — but was marked down to $35.99 — before it sold out, according to Insider. In the past, she’s been spotted wearing $50 black Zara work pants and a $35 sparkly Zara necklace. She even wore a Zara dress to her sister Pippa’s wedding. While Kate’s longstanding affinity for the mainstream brand has been the subject of many articles, fan blogs, and more, Cosmopolitan went as far as tracking all of her best Zara moments. 

As the media and fans alike have relentlessly obsessed over her Kate’s style choices, particularly her ability to successfully execute a high-low wardrobe and rock casual looks while still looking regal, it’s worth pointing out why her love of Zara matters. 

The royal family was infamous for its mysteriousness and inaccessibility until Princess Diana came into the picture. With her iconic athletic sweatshirts and biker shorts, Diana stole the hearts of people across the globe. She was a bit of an outsider (though her family is said to have had ties to the royal family); she was kind and nurturing; and in a way, she was almost one of us. While Kate’s family also has ties to the royal family, there’s a similar air about her, and it is through her style that she’s also developed an even deeper approachability. 

Therefore, when the Duchess wears a brand like Zara, it makes people feel like they can connect with her and potentially own something she’s worn, too. While Diana fans saw images of her on the pages of their newspapers and magazines (gossip ones especially), and could emulate her style, thanks to the advent of digital media, we can see images of Kate within hours of an appearance and easily find out the brands behind her clothes. It’s no wonder many of the items she wears sell out immediately.

While Zara’s relative accessibility has helped make Kate a more approachable royal, it’s important to note that the company is one of the major brands that has come under fire for its fast fashion practices. With this, it would be impactful if Kate further used her platform to talk about how to be a more mindful consumer. And while she’s already a fan of re-wearing clothes and donned ethical fashion label Beulah, we’d love to see her support more affordable, eco-conscious brands, too. 

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