{"id":104340,"date":"2022-10-22T01:54:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T01:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-rape-accuser-grilled-about-sex-life-alcohol\/"},"modified":"2022-10-22T01:54:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T01:54:00","slug":"paul-haggis-rape-accuser-grilled-about-sex-life-alcohol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-rape-accuser-grilled-about-sex-life-alcohol\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Haggis&#8217; rape accuser grilled about sex life, alcohol"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>A rape accuser of Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis was grilled Friday by his lawyers on the witness stand about her sex life and drug and alcohol use.<\/p>\n<p>One-time publicist Haleigh Breest is testing for the second day in Manhattan Supreme Court in her civil case against the 69-year-old \u201cCrash\u201d director, accusing him of raping her in his Soho penthouse on Jan.  31, 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Haggis denies her raped Breest and has maintained the encounter was consensual.<\/p>\n<p>Haggis&#8217; lawyer Priya Chaudhry asked Breest dozens of questions about her sex life and about every time she had sex before the alleged rape.<\/p>\n<p>Breest stands to have admitted to having three one-night prior to that night, and said she only attempted to have sex one time after the alleged rape.<\/p>\n<p>Chaudhry also asked Breest whether she had been drinking during those encounters, and Breest said she had been for the majority of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn how many people have you performed oral sex,\u201d Chaudhry probed, prompting Breest to answer between five and eight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose were times when you were drinking?\u201d  Chaudhry asked.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow\" data-component=\"inlineSlideshow\">\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slides\">\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slide\">\n<figure class=\"inline-slideshow__slide-figure\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"meta meta--caption\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHaleigh Breest was grilled on the witness stand about her sex life and alcohol and drug use by Paul Haggis&#8217; lawyers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><span class=\"inline-slideshow__credit meta meta--byline\">Brigitte Stelzer<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slide\">\n<figure class=\"inline-slideshow__slide-figure\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"878\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis8BS.jpg?resize=878%2C585&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"inline-slideshow__image\" alt=\"Haleigh Breest\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis8BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1756 1756w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis8BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1317 1317w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis8BS.jpg?resize=878%2C585&#038;ssl=1 878w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis8BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=439 439w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis8BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 878px) 100vw, 878px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"meta meta--caption\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBreest claims that the filmmaker raped her in his Soho apartment in 2013.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><span class=\"inline-slideshow__credit meta meta--byline\">Brigitte Stelzer<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slide\">\n<figure class=\"inline-slideshow__slide-figure\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"878\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis11BS.jpg?resize=878%2C585&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"inline-slideshow__image\" alt=\"Haleigh Breest\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis11BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1756 1756w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis11BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1317 1317w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis11BS.jpg?resize=878%2C585&#038;ssl=1 878w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis11BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=439 439w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis11BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 878px) 100vw, 878px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"meta meta--caption\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBreest claims that she repeatedly told Haggis &#8220;no&#8221; and &#8220;stop&#8221; during the alleged rape.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><span class=\"inline-slideshow__credit meta meta--byline\">Brigitte Stelzer<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cNo, not all,\u201d Breest replied.<\/p>\n<p>Breest admitted she had been drinking champagne at an open bar on the night of the alleged rape and was tipsy.  She had been working a movie premiere at her freelance job with the Cinema Society Club, where Haggis was attending as a celebrity guest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don&#8217;t remember how many drinks you had that night,\u201d Chaudhry asked, to which Breest answered no.<\/p>\n<p>Chaudhry also pressed her on whether she told Haggis she had been drinking: \u201cYou never told Mr.  Haggis you were drunk?  \u2026 You were not visibly intoxicated?\u201d  she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Breest answered no to both questions.<\/p>\n<p>Later, jurors saw text messages Breest sent a friend earlier on Jan.  31, 2013, asking her, \u201cdo u have any of those anti anxiety pills on you?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Breest also asked the friend if she had Ambien \u2014 a sleep aid. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do!\u201d  the friend replied, noting she had Xanax, but steering Breest away from Ambien.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like desperately need,\u201d Breest said, adding she needed the meds \u201cto get me through the next few days.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow\" data-component=\"inlineSlideshow\">\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slides\">\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slide\">\n<figure class=\"inline-slideshow__slide-figure\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"527\" height=\"589\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis4BS.jpg?resize=527%2C589&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"inline-slideshow__image\" alt=\"Paul Haggis in court.\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis4BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1054 1054w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis4BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=791 790w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis4BS.jpg?resize=527%2C589&#038;ssl=1 527w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis4BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=264 263w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis4BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"meta meta--caption\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHaggis has maintained that he didn&#8217;t rape Breest and that the sex was consensual.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><span class=\"inline-slideshow__credit meta meta--byline\">Brigitte Stelzer<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-slideshow__slide\">\n<figure class=\"inline-slideshow__slide-figure\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"878\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis2BS.jpg?resize=878%2C585&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"inline-slideshow__image\" alt=\"Paul Haggis in Manhattan Supreme Court.\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis2BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1756 1756w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis2BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1317 1317w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis2BS.jpg?resize=878%2C585&#038;ssl=1 878w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis2BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=439 439w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis2BS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 878px) 100vw, 878px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"meta meta--caption\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe director&#8217;s lawyer Priya Chaudhry asked Breest a slew of questions about why she went back to Haggis&#8217; apartment and why she didn&#8217;t leave during the encounter.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><span class=\"inline-slideshow__credit meta meta--byline\">Brigitte Stelzer<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Days later, Breest told her friend she liked taking the Xanax she was given.  But Breest told jurors she didn&#8217;t recall ever taking the drug.<\/p>\n<p>Breest also asked the friend where she could get her own prescription, explaining to jurors she didn&#8217;t have health insurance at the time. <\/p>\n<p>Breest also told jurors she is currently taking Ambien and the anti-anxiety medication Ativan \u2014 drugs she said she started taking regularly after the alleged rape as a result of the anxiety she has faced ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Chaudhry also asked a slew of questions about why Breest agreed to go home with Haggis to his Mercer Street apartment and why she didn&#8217;t leave the penthouse at any point during the night when Haggis was attempting to kiss her and leading up to the alleged rape .<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr.  Haggis had not forced you into that room?\u201d  Chaudhry asked Breest of the guest bedroom where she claims he raped her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Mr.  Haggis got on top of you, you weren&#8217;t kicking or screaming, were you?\u201d  Chaudhry pressed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn&#8217;t try to run out?\u201d  the lawyer continued.  \u201cYou did not try to get off the bed, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Breest answered no to all of the questions.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Breest \u2014 who was 26 at the time \u2014 said she was \u201cterrified\u201d and \u201cparalyzed\u201d as Haggis allegedly forced himself onto her.  And she says as the night went on, she repeatedly told Haggis \u201cno\u201d and \u201cstop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The trial began Wednesday, with jurors seeing video testimony from another publicist who alleged Haggis raped her one time in 1996 when the pair were working on a Canadian TV show. <\/p>\n<p>That woman was one of four others who have mounted sexual assault claims against the filmmaker.<\/p>\n<p>During opening statements Chaudhry said Breest brought false claims against Haggis so the jury \u201cwill give her a lot of Paul Haggis&#8217; money,\u201d and as part of an alleged conspiracy by the Church of Scientology to ruin Haggis.<\/p>\n<p>Haggis left the church after over 30 years in 2009 and has spoken out against the institution publicly \u2014 which he claims is the reason it has had a vendetta against him, including allegedly dredging up false sex assault claims against him.<\/p>\n<p>Breest&#8217;s lawyer Zoe Salzman told jurors in her opening statements that Haggis used his \u201cstorytelling skills and fame\u201d to prey on women.  \u201cPaul Haggis doesn&#8217;t stop when women say no,\u201d Salzman said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A rape accuser of Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis was grilled Friday by his lawyers on the witness stand about her sex life and drug and alcohol use. One-time publicist Haleigh Breest is testing for the second day in Manhattan Supreme Court in her civil case against the 69-year-old \u201cCrash\u201d director, accusing him of raping her &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-rape-accuser-grilled-about-sex-life-alcohol\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Paul Haggis&#8217; rape accuser grilled about sex life, alcohol<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5],"tags":[2943,110,32701,687,3749,3482,6367],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103099,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/accuser-testified-she-felt-like-trapped-animal-when-allegedly-raped-by-paul-haggis\/","url_meta":{"origin":104340,"position":0},"title":"Accuser testified she felt like &#8216;trapped animal&#8217; when allegedly raped by Paul Haggis","date":"October 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A one-time publicist described for a Manhattan jury Thursday how she felt like \u201ca trapped animal\u201d when Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis allegedly raped her in his Soho apartment. Haleigh Breest, who is suing Haggis over the alleged 2013 encounter,delivered graphic testimony in Manhattan Supreme Court, telling jurors she wished she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Director Paul Haggis arrives at the Manhattan Supreme Court.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Paul-Haggis-28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":111837,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-starts-defense-with-ex-scientologists-testimony\/","url_meta":{"origin":104340,"position":1},"title":"Paul Haggis starts defense with ex-Scientologist&#8217;s testimony","date":"October 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis began his defense Friday in a civil rape trial against him with a former Scientologist testing how the church allegedly \u201cdestroyed\u201d its enemies. Lawyers for accuser Haleigh Breest rested their case in the second week of trial where Breest \u2014 a former publicist \u2014 claims she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Michael Rinder in Manhattan Supreme Court.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/scientology-734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":104464,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-accuser-faces-cross-examination-in-new-york-civil-trial-deadline\/","url_meta":{"origin":104340,"position":2},"title":"Paul Haggis Accuser Faces Cross-Examination In New York Civil Trial \u2013 Deadline","date":"October 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"UPDATED: Almost five hours into a cross examination Friday that went second by second, and sometimes foot by foot, through the confines of Paul Haggis' apartment where Haleigh Breest said she was raped by the writer-director in 2013, she became visibly upset enough that the judge, Sabrina Kraus, called a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":103395,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-rape-accuser-testifies-i-was-like-a-trapped-animal-deadline\/","url_meta":{"origin":104340,"position":3},"title":"Paul Haggis Rape Accuser Testifies, \u201cI Was Like A Trapped Animal\u201d \u2013 Deadline","date":"October 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The sexual assault civil trial of Oscar-winning Crash writer-producer Paul Haggis continued today in Manhattan, with accuser Haleigh Breest back on the witness stand. The veteran publicist continued to describe a night in 2013 \u2014 she was in her mid-30s and he was in his late 50s \u2014 when Haggis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":102097,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/paul-haggis-rape-trial-scientology-hollywood-power-at-center-of-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":104340,"position":4},"title":"Paul Haggis Rape Trial: Scientology, Hollywood Power at Center of Case","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Opening statements began on Wednesday in a civil trial against Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis, who has been accused of raping a publicist nearly a decade ago. Haleigh Breest, who filed a lawsuit against Haggis in 2017, alleges that the screenwriter and director forced her to perform oral sex and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":102219,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/in-a-metoo-moment-hollywood-figures-face-season-of-trials\/","url_meta":{"origin":104340,"position":5},"title":"In a #MeToo moment, Hollywood figures face season of trials","date":"October 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The #MeToo movement is having another moment in the spotlight as high-profile sexual assault trials play out in courtrooms from coast to coast.five years later against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein triggered a wave of sexual misconduct claims in Hollywood and beyond, he and \u201cThat '70s Show\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/102122Haggis6BS-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}