Late afternoon session, Day 16 (Day 12 of testimony) Danny Masterson retrial
Cross-examination of Kathleen J
Cohen: The event took place 23 years ago.
That's right.
Because it was so long ago, is it fair to say that some things are hard to remember.
I remember most of it.
When you interviewed with the Toronto PD, did you say it was hard for you to remember things because of how long ago it was.
No, I didn't say those exact words.
Do you remember what words you said.
I believe I said I couldn't remember things that happened when I was unconscious.
Could you have said something different? (Shows her a transcript) Did you tell Toronto PD that it was hard for you to remember things because it was so long ago?
Yes.
Is that true?
It's true.
You were asked if you were ever a Scientologist, and you never were.
That's correct.
Do you have any animus toward it.
I don't know anything about it.
Any interest in it?
No.
Did you tweet out with a hashtag about Scientology?
I probably did at the very beginning.
But you connected this case with Scientology?
Yes.
Do you know who Leah Remini is?
I do not.
Did you follow her tweets?
Yes.
Do you now know who she is.
I don't really know who she is. but she put out a tweet.
And you followed her?
I followed her but i didn't follow up. I haven't read her tweets.
By the way, you worked on Angel Eyes?
I did.
And who was the star?
Jennifer Lopez.
(Photo of Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini. She IDs Lopez, doesn't recognize Leah.)
You had some communication with JD3.
Yes.
then after speaking with her, you spoke to Toronto PD.
That's correct.
In between, did you speak to anyone else about the case?
No, I don't believe I did.
Before you spoke to Toronto PD did you get a call
I did
From Tony Ortega?
I did.
did you give a statement to Mr. Ortega?
I did.
Were you truthful with Mr. Ortega?
Yes.
When you spoke with Mr. Ortega, the very next day did you see an interview online?
I did.
And you spoke to Mr. Ortega before you spoke to Toronto PD?
That's correct.
You've gone through a fairly detailed description of your claim to rape. (Obj, sustained) You've taken us through what you recall happening in the trip to the bathroom and then to bedroom.
Yes.
When you spoke to Mr. Ortega, did you tell Mr. Ortega that you remembered it was Masterson who was chatting you up, offered you a drink and the next thing you remembered was waking up in a hotel room in terrible pain.
No, I did not say that.
You sure you didn't say that? (Obj, sustained)
Did you review Mr. Ortega's online article?
I did.
Did you ever contact Mr. Ortega and tell him that he had misstated what you said?
I did call him and asked him if he could remove it because I didn't want my work to see it.
Did you tell Mr. Ortega that he got the facts wrong?
I don't remember.
You said this rape took place in the year 2000.
Correct.
And I guess a marker for that is that the film was Dracula 2000? (Obj, sustained) have you ever tweeted about the year you were raped?
I don't remember, but I do think I tweeted once 2003 because I was working on another film and got my dates mixed up.
Did you tweet in November of 2022, that Masterson had raped you in Toronto in 2003?
I might have but I don't remember.
Would it help to refresh your recollection to look at a tweet. (Shows her a document)
I didn't write that. Those are not my words.
Is that your Twitter handle?
Yes it is.
Is the twitter handle for the tweet that Ms. Anson showed you the same?
It is.
Were you following the prior proceeding in this case?
Not all the time, no.
Some of the time?
Some of the time.
The tweet I just showed you references the prior proceeding.
Yes, it does.
On November [date] 2022, did you tweet again that Masterson had raped you in 2003?
(Shows her a document.)
I did not tweet that.
Did you tweet that you had been raped by Masterson and Gerard Butler in 2003?
No I did not.
Do you see that there is a hashtag Scientology in that one?
I see that.
When you left the Sutton Hotel, the night of the rape you talked about, did you know when you left the hotel that you had been raped by Mr. Masterson?
I knew I was raped by him, but I didn't know his last name.
You knew you were raped at some party for Dracula 2000?
That is correct.
And that was something you never wanted to experience again?
Fair to say.
And nothing that would remind you of that?
Correct.
A couple of months later, Dracula 2000 appears on TV, or some medium?
We had a pirated copy from a friend.
So you asked for a copy?
No I did not. My husband got it.
You immediately threw it in the trash?
No.
You watched it?
yes.
Despite the fact that you associated the film with the rape you testified to?
That's correct.
The reason you watched it was because it was shot in Toronto.
Absolutely.
And the desire of seeing a movie shot in Toronto than it was a graphic memory you had (Obj, sustained.) Why did you watch it?
Because I didn't realize I would have that reaction.
And again, this is few months after the rape, you're watching the film, and you tell your husband what happened.
I told him after. We didn't watch the whole movie.
When you spoke to Mr. Ortega did you tell him that you had told your husband about your experience years later?
I don't remember?
Would it help to view the article?
It could, but they might not be my words, it could be his interpretation.
(Shows her a document.)
It's not verbatim.
My question is, does that refresh your recollection.
Yes.
Did you tell Mr. Ortega that you couldn't bring yourself to tell your husband, but you did years later.
No.
You didn't tell him that?
No.
Did you tell Mr. Ortega that you knew Masterson had raped you and others had raped you as well?
What I said was, I new he had and I felt there were other people int he room, but I couldn't see anyone.
Did you tell him I knew Masterson and perhaps others raped me.
No.
You never told him that.
No.
You indicated that you believe it was too late to report the rape to Toronto PD.
Yes.
You watched the movie just a few months after the rape (Obj, sustained) Did you feel it was too late to report a rape just a few months after?
Yes, I thought so.
As I understand you went to Angel Eyes wrap party first, then you wen to this other party.
That's correct.
The wrap party was winding down 12 to 1 am.
It wasn't winding down, they usually last until 2 am.
Did you tell Toronto PD that the other party, the wrap party was winding down, 12 or 1 am-ish.
Yes.
How old were your stepdaughters?
17 and 18.
Do you remember who invited your husband?
I do not.
Did you tell Mr. Ortega that Gerard Butler had invited you up to this suite.
No, I did not.
There were a lot of people up there.
Yes.
Dark?
Pretty dark, yeah.
You said someone offered you and your husband a beer.
Yes.
Who?
Someone standing by Mr. Masterson.
You've spoken to Ms. Anson about this case?
Not about this, no.
Did you give an interview to Ms. Anson on April 23, 2023.
Yes.
Was it recorded?
Yes.
Did you tell her on April 23 that you now believed it was Mr. Masterson who offered you the beer?
Yes.
But you don't believe that now?
That's correct.
So what you believed on April 23, 2023 and now has changed?
No.
(Drinks at dinner, then the party, then the suit, going over timeline) Did you tell Toronto PD that between the time you got to the party and the time you got a drink was maybe an hour to an hour and a half.
I was guessing at the time.
Are you guessing now?
Is your memory now better than it was when you spoke to Toronto PD?
Yes it is.
What time was it that you took a drink at the suite party?
I don't know.
At the time you took a drink, your husband was out on the balcony smoking?
That's correct.
Did you tell Toronto PD that your husband had taken his daughter back to the room and you don't remember seeing him.
I didn't say he took her to the room.
By the way you've written out some notes.
Yes, as I was remembering things I tried to jot them down.
Have you reviewed those notes?
No, I have not.
(Reviews what she wrote in the notes.)
So the time you got this drink you don't remember seeing Rob?
Oh, that's correct.
Does Rob leave with his daughter before you sit down on the couch?
No.
When you get this drink where's Rob?
I don’t know. I assume he was on the balcony smoking.
When you got this drink did you see Rob?
No.
Did you see him before the next day?
No, I did not.
Did you tell Ms. Anson that Rob remembers seeing you led away?
I told her that's what he remembers.
(Asks about preserving clothes from that night. No.)
Do you have a clear recollection of your conversation with Mr. Ortega.
Yes, I do.
No further questions.
REDIRECT
Anson: Now you spoke to Mr. Ortega before you spoke to Toronto PD
Yes.
It was Saturday after I had tweeted, and then I got a phone call, a New York number. I answered it. He asked if I would speak with him. Naively I said yes.
What do you mean naively.
I didn't know the implications. I'd already tweeted, so I thought I should do it.
Did you think there would be a published story?
I didn't understand that.
Did he tell you it had been published.
Yes, he sent a Facebook message saying here it is.
Did that impact your decision to go to police?
Yes, it helped me make my decision to report.
When you agreed to watch the Dracula 2000 movie, did you know that the defendant would be an actor in the movie?
No I did not.
In the conversation when you and I had spoken a few weeks ago, was there an investigator on the phone with us?
Yes there was.
Before we spoke did you say you had things to share?
I did.
Did I tell you that we could set up a time to be recorded?
I was driving and I wasn't planning on a call and I was caught off guard.
How long was that recorded conversation.
I'd say no more than 15 minutes.
Were some of the things you were relaying things your husband remembered.
That's right.
You said your memory has gotten better, what do you mean by that?
Since 2021 I've been seeing a therapist and it's helping me.
What is that process?
Basically she is just trying to help me go back step by step, and if I get emotional she backs off.
Why are you here testifying today?
I'm here because people like my niece I never want that to happen to. Or anybody. And waiting 20 years is too long. And there's help out there, which I didn't realize. And there's always an ear, and you have aa voice and you need to use it.
No further.
RECROSS
Cohen: Is another reason because you're hoping to help the named victims in this case?
Absolutely.
You said at one point that the rape took place in 2003.
No.
I thought you said you were working on another project in 2003...
I did and it was a a typo.
Do you have the tweet that has a typo in it?
No, I don't have that account anymore.
You said the two tweets I showed you are not yours because you would not talk like that.
That's right.
What doesn't sound like you?
I don't say "people can rot in hell" things like that.
What did the tweet that had the typo say?
I don't remember.
When was it sent?
I don’t remember.
You've been working on your memory of this event since 2001?
That's correct.
And it keeps getting clearer and clearer?
Up to this point.
And it would include what you told Tony Ortega?
Oh yes.
Nothing further.
RE-REDIRECT
(Photo shown of Her)
Nothing further.
Cohen wants a moment before she's excused. So they ask her to wait in the hall.
Judge: Is there a stipulation regarding Det Myers?
Cohen: When Det Myers interviewed JD1 in 2004, that JD1 had indicated when his penis made contacted her anus, he immediately apologized. (People: So stipulated)
Judge send the jury into the jury room.
Cohen: It is not possible for me to subpoena a police officer from Canada and ask them to appear in California. There is a tape of Kathleen's interview with Toronto PD, I would like to use that for impeachment, but there is an issue with foundation because the officer is in Canada.
Judge asks the two sides to talk it over, and she can order her back for the morning.
Cohen: Secondly I want these two tweets marked...
Judge: Authentication. We'll mark them together.
So they will have Kathleen back in the morning .
Mr. Cohen approached your proprietor and asked if we need to be subpoenaed to appear as a witness tomorrow in this trial.
We told him we would fight any subpoena to appear.
In recess until tomorrow morning.
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Doesn't reporter's privilege apply here? Meaning that in a criminal trial, they can't compel you to appear unless you can testify to actual guilt/innocence or whether the crime happened in the first place?
I'm not a lawyer, but I was a journalism major, and First Amendment stuff is pretty much day one. Subpoenaing a journalist to talk about their conversations with a source, even if that source is named, is complete horseshit.
What what what just happened?! Today's video summation is going to be WILD!