Claudia Salinas calls Weinstein's accuser's testimony that she locked her in bathroom 'pure fiction'

The Mexican model accused by an alleged Harvey Weinstein victim of trapping her in a Beverly Hills hotel bathroom with the disgraced movie mogul denied the claim calling it 'pure fiction.'

Claudia Salinas, 39, took the stand at Weinstein's sex crimes trial in Los Angeles on Wednesday and in a sometimes heated exchange with prosecutors, adamantly denied that she lured and locked Lauren Young in the hotel bathroom with Weinstein where he allegedly masturbated on her. 

Earlier this week, Young told Los Angeles Superior Court jurors in an emotional testimony that Salinas invited her to the Montague Hotel in February 2013 for a 'meeting' with Weinstein to discuss a script and potential job opportunities.

Salinas admitted there was a meeting for drinks at the hotel, but denied escorting Young to a hotel room or trapping her in a bathroom with Weinstein. 

The weeks-long trial continued this week as Weinstein's defense team asked if he would be allowed to wear suspenders because 'his pants had been falling down' in court. The judge said it was fine with her if it falls within sheriff’s rules.

Weinstein, 70, was previously convicted in New York of rape and sexual assault, and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is now facing another 11 counts of sexual battery by restraint and faces life in prison if convicted.

Claudia Salinas, 39, took the stand at Harvey Weinstein's LA trial Wednesday where she denied his accuser's claims that she trapped them in a hotel bathroom where he assaulted her

Salinas admitted there was a meeting for drinks at the Beverly Hills hotel in 2013, but denied escorting Lauren Young to the hotel room or trapping her in a bathroom with Weinstein

In court on Wednesday, Salinas told jurors that she met Weinstein in 2003 while having dinner with her mother in New York. She later landed roles in a few of his movies including Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.

'Harvey Weinstein was a business acquaintance, that's all he ever was,' Salinas told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. 

'I certainly wasn't asked to be drawn into either of his trials and it was the last place I wanted to be,' she said referring to when she testified in Weinstein's New York trial in 2020. 

'Having said that, I consistently told the truth in both trials,' she said. 'Jane Doe 2's allegations did not hold up under cross-examination because obviously they are fiction.'

Salinas met Jane Doe 2 - also known as Young - in 2012 and said the two of them hit it off. 

'We became friends, Facebook friends. I don't remember if we hung out,' she said. 

In court on Wednesday, Salinas reiterated that she remembered meeting with Young at the Montage Hotel in February 2013, but again denied escorting Young to a hotel room or trapping her in a bathroom with Weinstein. 

'Did you ever stand outside a bathroom while Mr. Weinstein raped someone inside?' Weinstein's defense attorney Mark Werksman asked Salinas on Wednesday. 

'Absolutely not,' she replied.

However, earlier this week, Young's testimony told a different story. A story of Salinas, a woman she thought was her friend, lured her to the hotel under the promise of a meeting with Weinstein, then trapped her in a bathroom with him where he allegedly groped her and masturbated on her. 

In court on Wednesday, Salinas told jurors that she met Weinstein in 2003 while having dinner with her mother in New York. She later landed a role in his movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

Weinstein, 70, was previously convicted in New York of rape and sexual assault, and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is now facing another 11 counts of sexual battery by restraint and faces life in prison if convicted

'This was a girl that I thought was my new friend,' Young told the court on Monday. 

'So she gave me this look while she closed the door…I just couldn't believe that she would do that to me. To another girl. Because there's a girl code. You don't do that.'

'I saw Claudia Salinas right there. I shot her an evil look. She didn't say anything. She looked at me. She had this evil look. Like a smirk. Like she roped me in on something.' 

Young's testimony on Monday mirrored the allegations she made on the stand at Weinstein's New York trial in 2020. In that trial, Young was called to testify for prosecutors who asked her to help establish a pattern of Weinstein's predatory behavior.

Salinas also testified at the New York trial, denying Young's allegations. 

On Wednesday, she was questioned about luring Young to the hotel for a meeting with Weinstein and asking her to bring a script. 

Salinas denied this claim, testifying that 'there was no script' and that 'there must have been something that she was on the top of my head to invite her.'

'Did you bring Jane Doe 2 to the meeting to offer her up to Weinstein sexually?' Werksman asked.

'Absolutely not,' she replied.

'Were you in the business of procuring women for Mr. Weinstein to have sex with?'

'Absolutely not.'

'Did you act as a pimp for Mr. Weinstein?'

Salinas laughed and said: 'No.'

'Did you tell her you could get Mr. Weinstein to look at a script for her?'

'There was no script.'

On Monday, Young told jurors at the trial that Claudia Salinas locked her and Weinstein in the bathroom of the Montage Hotel and he groped her and masturbated on her

Young was not one of the accusers whose stories would lead to Weinstein's conviction of rape and sexual assault, and his eventual 23-year prison sentence. She is pictured here in 2020

He then asked her if she rode up an elevator with Young and Weinstein, and she replied 'No.' 

She also said no as to whether she'd closed the bathroom door.   

'Absolutely not.' Whether she ever stood outside a bathroom while a rape was happening inside. 'Absolutely not.'

When prosecutor Paul Thompson began his questioning, things got heated. 

At one point, he asked Salinas whether her memory was 'fuzzy.'

Salinas replied: 'I remember some things, it was pretty uneventful.'  

'As you sit here today it is your absolute sworn testimony that Jane Doe 2 did not discuss a screenplay with you?' he asked.

'Absolutely,' she replied. 

'You said when you parted company you left on good terms. … What happened on 2/19 to change that so that you never saw each other again?'

'Does she even live in LA?' Salinas replied.

'Answer my question please!'

'We fell out of touch, it happens!'

Salinas also denied relying on Weinstein for financial support, and said she had never been alone in a hotel suite with him.

'I would remember,' she said. 'So I don't remember ever being alone in a hotel suite with him.'

Thompson also then asked: 'How many times did you arrange a meeting between Weinstein and a woman in her early to mid 20s?'

'I never arranged any meetings,' she responded.