Lisa Bloom may be done with the Harvey Weinstein case, but her mother Gloria Allred is just getting started, and on Friday she held a press conference with one of the mogul’s alleged victims.
Heather Kerr came forward to claim that in 1989 she was sexually assaulted by Weinstein during a meeting at his Westwood office.
The Hollywood hopeful had some acting success at the time, but was making ends meet by working in the office of Weinstein’s business manager as the man’s assistant.
She said she spoke to Weinstein daily in that capacity, and when she got the offer to meet him her boss encouraged it, suggesting there was a lot to be learned from the man.
Minutes after she was alone in the office with Weinstein, Kerr claims the mogul unzipped his pants and pulled out his penis, then grabbed her hand and placed it on his genitals.
Kerr had trouble retelling the story as she fought back tears throughout the press conference. By the end, both she and Allred were in tears.
She also noted that she had shared parts of her story with a few people over the years.
New victim: Heather Kerr (above) claimed at a press conference on Friday that she had been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein
Bros before…: Harvey and his brother Bob had their first major success in 1989 when they acquired the film ‘sex, lies and videotape’
Facts of life: Kerr was hoping to get advice on how best to pursue a possible career in Hollywood after getting some TV work when Weinstein offered to meet her (l to r: Mindy Cohn, Lisa Whelchel, Heather Kerr, Kim Fields, Charlotte Rae, Nancy McKeon on ‘Facts of Life’ in 1981)
‘Harvey and I arranged a meeting. He told me that he was not working out of his regular office on that particular day and wanted me to meet him in an office in Westwood,’ read Kerr from a prepared statement on Friday.
‘I arrived and a person who appeared to be a secretary was leaving. She gave me a look like “I hope you’re ready for this…”‘
Kerr than added: ‘It was unsettling.’
She then found herself alone with Weinstein in hois office, and things quicly took a shocking turn according to Kerr.
‘He called me into his office and told me to sit on the couch. He then sat down next to me and proceeded to tell me “How things worked in Hollywood,”‘ said Kerr.
‘He asked me if I was “good.” I started to tell him about my training and my acting experience and he said “No. I need to know if you’re GOOD.” He said that if he was going to introduce me around town to directors and producers he he needed to know if I was any “good.” He kept repeating that word.’
Soon after that is when the sexual assault allegedly took place.
‘He had this sly, sleazy smile on his face and the fact that he was sitting so close to me on this couch…I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach,’ said Kerr.
‘The next thing I knew he had unzipped his fly and pulled out his penis. My heart started pounding. My mind started racing. How do I deal with this? How do I get out of this? Am I going to get out of this? How is this happening?’
She continued: ‘He then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him and forced my hand onto his penis and held it there. I was frozen with fear, trying to remain calm, trying not to freak out because, after all, there was nobody there.