A woman accused of stalking by “Orange Is the New Black” co-star Taryn Manning says she’s the one who was being harassed — and insisted she and Taryn were more than just friends.
“We had a physical relationship,” Jeanine Heller, 32, told The Post Wednesday, referring to Manning, who had her arrested for allegedly sending hundreds of creepy text and e-mail messages between April and July.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, Heller said she’s the one who was being hassled.
Attorneys for both Heller and Manning acknowledged that the two had been friends. But the accused stalker insists there was much more to the relationship.
“There’s a mix of sexual e-mails and harassing e-mails and images,” Heller said, referring to correspondence that she claims were sent to her by Manning, who plays homophobic, born-again-Christian ex-meth addict Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett on the hit Netflix TV hit. “I have no reason to embellish anything or lie.”
Heller’s lawyer, Jeremy Saland, said after their brief court appearance Wednesday that he intends to use the e-mails to show that Manning’s story of cyber-harassment doesn’t add up.
Heller, in fact, filed a June 11 complaint against Manning’s assistant and longtime friend Hollian Hartman, claiming Hartman had threatened her on Facebook.
“[The assistant told Heller she] should kill herself and if not she’s going to f–k her up,” a law-enforcement source said. That allegation came weeks before Heller’s arrest on July 2.
“I have ample conversations and communications from [Manning] — that I would say without hesitation would make the Internet blush — of a pretty explicit sexual nature,” Saland said with Heller at his side.
“When and if this goes to trial, Ms. Manning will have to answer why she’s sending these … sexually charged and sexually explicit e-mails,” the lawyer said.
Manning’s lawyer, Andrew Quinn, adamantly denied that his client and Heller were ever more than friends. He insisted that no sexually explicit e-mails were ever exchanged.
“All Taryn Manning is trying to do is get Jeanine Heller out of her life — but she won’t go away,” he said.
Manning, a second cousin to star NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, released a statement through her publicist. “My heart goes out to anyone who has endured being stalked and cyber-bullied. I wish Jeanine nothing but the best and that she gets the help she needs.”
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram