Harvey Weinstein Victim Known As ‘Jane Doe 1’ Reveals Her Identity

Evgeniya Chernyshova isn’t hiding anymore.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 43-year-old mother of three reveals herself to be “Jane Doe 1”, the victim at the heart of Harvey Weinstein’s recent conviction.

On Thursday, the disgraced movie producer was sentenced in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for raping Chernyshova, who had remained anonymous through the legal proceedings.

The sentencing came after Weinstein was convicted of the crime on Dec. 19, and Chernyshova recalled learning the verdict while in her car with her 16-year-old daughter and 23-year-old son.

“I had to ask my daughter if I understood the English correctly,” she said. “She’s like, ‘Why are you crying, mom? It’s good.’”

Chernyshova, who was born in Russia, had testified that Weinstein had raped her in his hotel room in 2013.

The trial in Los Angeles involved charges based on the accusations of four women, though Chernyshova’s case was the only one that resulted in a conviction.

Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year sentence in New York on a conviction issues in the state in 2020.

Talking about why she has finally come forward to reveal her identity following the latest sentencing, Chernyshova said, “I’m tired of hiding. I want my life back. I’m Evgeniya, I’ve been raped. This is my story.”

She added, “Part of me, I’m fearing for my future. But I’m proud of myself. If I continue to hide, I cannot do anything. I will just be there with my pain.”

Opening up about the sexual assault, Chernyshova recalled bumping into Weinstein during Oscars week in L.A. in 2013, and later getting a call from the hotel’s front desk informing her Weinstein wanted to see her.

He went up to her hotel room door and asked to come in.

“And that is the thing I have regretted for the last 10 years — that I did open this door,” Chernyshova says. “He just walked through me and went directly to the chair. He was like, ‘We’re just talking. There’s nothing happening. Why are you so nervous?’”

As things began to turn, Chernyshova told Weinstein that she was married and that she wanted him to leave.

“He opened his pants, and I became hysterical,” she recalled. “I was continuing to show my kids’ pictures, to try to convince him that, ‘I have kids, please do not do that.’ But he did what he did. He assaulted me in the bedroom, and then he dragged me to the bathroom and he raped me there.”

She recalled afterward, “I felt very, very dirty and like I have to die.”

It was a conversation with her daughter Maria in 2017 that finally got her to report her case.

“Everything pretty much started back when I came forward to my mom about the sexual assaults that I went through as a sophomore in high school,” Maria said, explaining that her mom insisted that she report the assault to the police.

“I told her that she would never really be able to understand me,” Maria continued. “And she told me that she does understand, because she has been raped.”

They eventually made a pact to both come forward with their cases, and coincidentally, just weeks later, The New York Times and The New Yorker published exposés about Weinstein’s history of sexual assault and misconduct.

As for the 2022 trial, Chernyshova described taking the stand to testify as “the worst experience of my life,” describing the defence lawyers’ attempts to “harass and humiliate” her.

But now that a conviction and sentencing have been reached, Chernyshova sees the positive side of taking her stand.

“I believe all of the victims who testified,” she said. “All of them. And I want to say this, this is not only my victory, this is our victory.”