Harvey Weinstein's retrial verdict is a measured #MeToo victory during the backlash era

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– Verdict's in. In an era of #MeToo backlash, with hyper-masculinity ruling from Washington, D.C. to Silicon Valley, the retrial of Harvey Weinstein could serve as a kind of litmus test—would his guilty verdict hold up in 2025?
Yesterday, a jury found the former Hollywood producer and convicted sexual predator guilty on the top charge he faced in New York—but acquitted him of the second and failed to reach a verdict on the third.
Three women—former production assistant Miriam Haley, former model Kaja Sokola, and Jessica Mann, who aspired to become an actress—brought claims forward against Weinstein. These weren't the most headline-grabbing of Weinstein's dozens of reported offenses—no celebrities involved—but they were what ultimately brought him to justice in 2020 (as did a trial in Los Angeles, which Weinstein is appealing).
Weinstein's attorneys were counting on the vastly different cultural moment we are in to protect the ex-mogul. As the New York Times put it, his lawyers bet that the '#MeToo movement had waned enough to cast doubt on the motives and credibility of his accusers.' Attorney Arthur Aidala previously said that the women who accused Weinstein were 'were trying to take advantage of [him]'—because of the impact of the #MeToo movement. Weinstein has continued to deny the allegations against him.
While accusations against Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement, they weren't its sum-total. The movement led to the passage of the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed victims of years-old abuse to come forward—including musician Cassie, leading to Diddy's ongoing trial today.
The jury is expected to return today to deliberate on the third charge. Whatever the outcome, #MeToo is bigger than Weinstein—but the movement can still count his partial verdict as a measured victory during a hostile political moment.
Emma [e-mail]
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com