Harvey Weinstein used his power and influence in Hollywood to rape women, leaving them in fear for their careers if they opposed him, a Los Angeles court heard Monday.

The film mogul took advantage of both his physical size and position as the “king” of the movie industry to attack his victims in hotel rooms, prosecutors said as a two-month trial to hear evidence began.

“They feared that if they reported his actions, he could ruin their careers,” Assistant District Attorney Paul Thompson said before the crowded courtroom.

Thompson said jurors would hear from eight women who were sexually assaulted by the Pulp Fiction producer, who is credited with making the careers of some of the film industry’s biggest names, including Quentin Tarantino, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow.

“Each of these women came forward independently, and none of them knew each other,” he said.

The jury will hear testimony from these women, including how they begged the man, now 70, to stop but that he insisted on raping her, forcing her to have oral sex on him or making her watch him masturbate .

Thompson shared a picture of Weinstein and former first lady Hillary Clinton and said the Hollywood kingpin wielded “power with presidential candidates.”

Thompson played a series of quotes from the alleged victims to the jury, describing Weinstein as “the most powerful person in the business” and “the king.”

“Part of me thought I should just run away, but he’s a big guy,” one of the women told investigators.

“He is tall. he is wide He is overweight. He’s dominant,” said one.

“I still wanted to work in Hollywood, so I was afraid to do anything about it,” said one woman.

“I was afraid that if I didn’t play nice, because of his power in the industry, something might happen in or out of the room,” said another woman.

Like most victims of sexual assault, the women in the case are being referred to as “Jane Doe” to protect their anonymity, but one has been publicly identified as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Weinstein, who produced “The English Patient” and “Good Will Hunting,” has been in prison in New York for 23 years after being convicted of a series of sex crimes.

He now faces 11 additional charges, including sexual assault by restraint, forcible rape and forcible oral copulation against women in hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013.

If convicted, Weinstein – who has pleaded not guilty to all charges – could face more than 100 more years in prison.

Widespread sexual abuse and harassment allegations against Weinstein exploded in October 2017, and his 2020 New York conviction was a milestone in the #MeToo movement.

In June, he lost a motion to have his sex crimes conviction vacated. He was also charged separately by British prosecutors for the indecent assault on a woman in London in 1996.

In all, nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek, have accused Weinstein of molestation or assault.

Weinstein says all of his sexual encounters were consensual, and his attorney previously told reporters that the Los Angeles allegations “dated many years ago” and were not “supported or corroborated by forensic evidence” or “credible witnesses.”

Before the allegations against him, the producer and his brother Bob were Hollywood’s ultimate power players.

They co-founded Miramax Films in 1979, a distribution company named after their mother Miriam and father Max, which was sold to Disney in 1993.

Among her hits was 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” for which Weinstein received an Academy Award for Best Picture. Over the years, Weinstein’s films have received more than 300 Academy Award nominations and 81 statuettes.

“She Said,” a film about the 2017 newspaper investigation into Weinstein that sparked the demise of his film empire, is slated for a US release on November 18.