NEW YORK – In the latest courtroom drama surrounding Harvey Weinstein, two sisters took the stand, bringing a family dispute into the public eye. Kaja Sokola, who has accused Weinstein of sexual assault, was supported by her sister, Ewa Sokola, during the trial. However, Ewa’s testimony inadvertently bolstered the defense’s case.
In a surprising turn of events, Ewa Sokola has now filed a defamation lawsuit against her sister Kaja. According to court documents submitted Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Ewa, a cardiologist based in Poland, claims that Kaja’s public statements have defamed her, causing significant harm to her reputation and professional life.
Ewa Sokola alleges that her sister’s comments have subjected her to severe public scrutiny, resulting in hatred, shame, and ridicule within their community in Wrocław, Poland. She is seeking unspecified damages to address the impact of these allegations.
As the lawsuit unfolds, Kaja Sokola’s legal team has yet to respond to inquiries made on Thursday and Friday regarding the case.
Earlier this year, a jury delivered a mixed verdict in Weinstein’s trial. He was found guilty of forcibly performing oral sex on Miriam Haley, a film and television assistant, while being acquitted of charges related to Kaja Sokola’s accusations. Both alleged incidents occurred in 2006.
The trial concluded with a mistrial on charges that Weinstein raped former actress Jessica Mann, as the jury could not reach a unanimous decision.
Weinstein has not yet been sentenced as a judge weighs a defense request to throw out the verdict after two jurors told Weinstein’s lawyers that other jurors had bullied them into convicting him. Judge Curtis Farber is expected to rule on Jan. 8.
Kaja Sokola has said her sister’s testimony at Weinstein’s state court trial in New York earlier this year undermined her own testimony that he forced oral sex at a Manhattan hotel just before her 20th birthday.
Weinstein had arranged for Kaja Sokola to be an extra for a day in the film “The Nanny Diaries,” and separately agreed to meet her and Ewa. After they chatted, she testified, Weinstein told her he had a script to show her in his hotel room, and she went up with him. There, she said, Weinstein pushed her onto a bed and assaulted her.
After the trial, Kaja Sokola criticized her sister’s testimony, saying that though she was called as a prosecution witness, she ended up serving Weinstein’s cause by providing his lawyers with a journal in which she wrote about the men who had sexually assaulted her in her life but did not include Weinstein.
According to the lawsuit, Kaja Sokola repeatedly characterized her sister’s testimony as a personal “betrayal” and falsely accused her of omitting journals in which she described what happened with Weinstein.
The lawsuit also said Kaja Sokola had falsely accused Ewa Sokola of homicide, theft, falsification of medical records, sexual impropriety and immoral conduct, and of colluding with Weinstein’s defense team.
The lawsuit said Kaja Sokola’s false claims have cost Ewa Sokola referrals and led to a reduction in patients and employees for her medical practice while damaging her professional reputation and her standing within the medical community.
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