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WARNING: This article may concern those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has.
Prosecutors once again portrayed Harvey Weinstein as a Hollywood actor who once used his power as a tool for sexual harassment, repainting a familiar but difficult picture Tuesday in a retrial, nearly eight years after the former movie mogul's arrest.
“This case is going to be about power, control and manipulation,” Manhattan District Attorney Candace White told jurors as opening statements began in the bellwether #MeToo case, with District Attorney Alvin Bragg watching from the audience.
Weinstein's attorney, Jacob Kaplan, responded that the case is essentially “about consent, choice and remorse,” echoing Weinstein's long-standing defense that his accuser has dismissed his voluntary association as a crime.
Since Weinstein became a major target of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct nearly a decade ago, he has been convicted and acquitted of other sexual assault charges on both coasts of America. A few cases were eventually dismissed. But the rape case involving a 2013 encounter at a Manhattan hotel remains on hold, thanks to a mistrial followed by a jury deadlock.
The allegations are now known. But the contours of the case have changed.
Previous cases have included other plaintiffs and defendants. The case is tied to one question about what happened in the hotel room that morning between Weinstein and hair stylist and actress Jessica Mann, although jurors will also hear more about their relationship before and after that.
A change in the test
Weinstein has also changed his legal team, along with his speaking style and perhaps strategic decisions for his defense. His new lawyers have made it clear that they intend to look more closely at investigating, for example, Mann's compensation from the claims fund of women who say Weinstein sexually harassed them.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty and denies having sex without consent. In court in January, he said he had been unfaithful to his then-wife and “did something wrong, but I never hit anyone.”
Harvey Weinstein was convicted on Wednesday of one count in his retrial for sex crimes but acquitted of another. A verdict is yet to be reached on the third rape case.
The judges – seven men and five women – were appointed last week. Weinstein's last New York jury was mostly female, but his first was male.
Now a 73-year-old prisoner, Weinstein was once one of Hollywood's most influential figures. An Academy Award-winning producer and studio executive, he helped deliver acclaimed films such as Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love again Gangsters of New York in movie theaters and popular reality series Project Runway on television. He was also a prominent donor to the Democratic Alliance.
His career collapsed in 2017, when years of Hollywood gossip about his behavior towards women became public allegations in the news and on social media. Criminal cases were pursued in New York and Los Angeles.
History of Weinstein and Mann
Jessica Mann, 27, was a hairstylist hoping to break into acting when she met Weinstein at a party in Los Angeles in early 2013.
She testified that she wanted to hook up with a professional but ended up, frankly, in a consensual relationship with then-married Weinstein.
On a trip to New York with a friend in March 2013, she hosted a breakfast for her friends and Weinstein, she said in previous tests. According to Mann's earlier testimony, Weinstein eventually locked her in a hotel room, ignored her protests that “I don't want to do this,” forced her to undress and grabbed her arms. He said he failed because he “just wanted to get out.”
The New York Supreme Court has overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape, a landmark decision for the #MeToo movement. Andrew Chang explains how the prosecution knew it took gambling, and when that gambling was wrong.
White told jurors Tuesday that Weinstein “used to get his way. He did what he wanted, when he wanted and with whom.”
“Outside the doors, the powers that be say they will take what they want from the victim in this case.”
Weinstein shook his head slightly at one point as White said he “quieted” Mann by letting him know that falling for him could be quicksand.
Weinstein's defense emphasized that after the rape allegations, Mann continued to see Weinstein, accepting invitations, asking him for work help and sending him warm messages.
He said he was trying to avoid angering the intense and well-connected man. But his attorney said the case “isn't 'he said,' — it's going to be his word against his word.”
“Ask yourself: What does Jessica Mann get from Harvey Weinstein?” Kaplan told the jury. He countered that he re-evaluated the relationship and regretted it years later, but that “doesn't take away consent.”
The Associated Press does not respect people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be named, as Mann did.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
