Latest news with ##MeToo
Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
'No means no' prosecutor tells jurors as Harvey Weinstein trial wraps
A prosecutor told jurors at Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape and sexual assault trial Wednesday that "no means no" as they prepared to consider his fate. A New York state appeals court had thrown out Weinstein's 2020 convictions after irregularities in the presentation of witnesses at his original trial, forcing two victims of his alleged abuse to testify a second time. "He raped three women, they all said no," said prosecutor Nicole Blumberg as she recounted the evidence of the three alleged victims of Weinstein who testified at this trial. The Hollywood powerbroker had "all the power" and "all the control" over the alleged victims which is why jurors should find him guilty, she said. "The defendant thought the rules did not apply to him, now it is the time to let him know that the rules apply to him. "There is no reasonable doubt, tell the defendant what he already knows -- that he is guilty of the three crimes." Weinstein's defense attorney insisted the sexual encounters were consensual, pointing to a "casting couch" dynamic between the movie mogul and the women. "We don't want to police the bedroom" -- except in cases of rape, Blumberg fired back. Judge Curtis Farber indicated that he would give his instructions to the jurors Thursday morning, the final step before they withdraw behind closed doors to deliberate. Weinstein, the producer of box-office hits "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love," has never acknowledged wrongdoing. The cinema magnate, whose downfall in 2017 sparked the global #MeToo movement, has been on trial again since April 15 in a scruffy Manhattan courtroom. He is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted in California of raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago. Two of the accusers in this case -- onetime production assistant Miriam Haley and then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann -- testified at Weinstein's original trial. Their accounts helped galvanize the #MeToo movement nearly a decade ago, but the case is being re-prosecuted at a new trial in New York. His 2020 convictions on charges relating to Haley and Mann, and his 23-year prison term, were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals. The tribunal ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original trial was unlawful. Some 20 years after the earliest incidents were alleged to have taken place, Weinstein's defense team have sought to cast doubt on the credibility of the accusers. Weinstein has appeared daily in a wheelchair, physically subdued, but laughing and joking with his legal team. He did not speak at his trial, which also featured a new charge of sexual assault committed against former Polish model Kaja Sokola.
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Weinstein retrial nears end as lawyers argue: sexual predator or #MeToo 'poster boy'?
Published Jun 03, 2025 • 3 minute read Harvey Weinstein appears in state court in Manhattan as jury selection continues in his retrial on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in New York. Photo by David Dee Delgado / AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein 's lawyer portrayed him as the falsely accused 'original sinner' of the #MeToo era, while a prosecutor told jurors at his sex crimes retrial Tuesday that the former movie mogul preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The two sides took very different tones in their closing arguments, which are due to conclude Wednesday. Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, veered into folksy jokes and theatricality — sometimes re-enacting witnesses' behaviour — as he contended that his client engaged in a 'courting game,' not crimes. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, as direct as Aidala was discursive, urged jurors to focus on Weinstein's accusers and their days of grueling testimony. 'This was not a 'courting game,' as Mr. Aidala wants you to believe. This was not a 'transaction,'' she told jurors. 'This was never about 'fooling around.' It was about rape.' The majority-female jury is expected to start deliberations at some point Wednesday, inheriting a case that was seen as a #MeToo watershed when Weinstein was convicted five years ago. It ended up being retried, and reshaped, because an appeals court overturned the 2020 verdict. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Weinstein, the former Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast, has pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in 2013 and forcing oral sex on two others, separately, in 2006. Aidala argued that everything that happened between the ex-producer and his accusers was a consensual, if 'transactional,' exchange of favours. The attorney accused prosecutors of 'trying to police the bedroom' and zeroing in on the man seen as 'the poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement.' 'They tried to do it five years ago, and now there's a redo, and they're trying to do it again,' he told jurors. His hours-long summation touched on matters from the acclaimed, Weinstein-co-produced 1994 film 'Pulp Fiction' to his own marriage and his grandmother's Italian gravy, at times playing for — and getting — laughs from jurors and Weinstein. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Aidala depicted the former studio boss as a self-made New Yorker, while painting Weinstein's accusers as troubled and canny 'women with broken dreams' who plied him for movie opportunities and other perks, kept engaging with him for years and then turned on him to cash in on his #MeToo undoing. All three received compensation through legal processes separate from the criminal trial. Blumberg countered that Weinstein interpreted a sexual 'no' as a cue to 'push a little bit more, and if they still say no, just take it anyway.' She argued that his accusers stayed in friendly contact with Weinstein because they were trying to work in entertainment, and they feared their careers would be squashed if they crossed him. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'He chose people who he thought would be the perfect victims, who he could rape and keep silent,' the prosecutor said. 'He underestimated them.' Weinstein had a decades-long run as one of the movie industry's most influential people. In 2017, allegations of sexual assault and harassment tanked his career and catalyzed the #MeToo movement, which seeks accountability for sexual misconduct. He was subsequently convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to prison in New York and California. His California appeal hasn't been decided. Since the New York retrial opened April 23, prosecutors have brought in more than two dozen witnesses. The prosecution centred on Weinstein's three accusers, who each faced days of questions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In often graphic and sometimes tearful testimony, the women said the Oscar-winning producer used his showbiz stature as a hook to prey on them. Jessica Mann, who accused Weinstein of rape, was a hairstylist hoping to make it as an actor when she met him. The sexual assault accusers also were trying to build careers in entertainment: Miriam Haley was a production assistant and producer, and Kaja Sokola was a teenage model who wanted to get into acting. Prosecutors added Sokola's allegations to the case for the retrial. But some other accusers from the first trial weren't part of the second. The appeals court said it was prejudicial to include their accusations, which never resulted in charges. Weinstein, 73, decided not to testify. His attorneys presented a few witnesses to cast doubts on certain aspects of the accusers' accounts. But Weinstein's defence also relied heavily on questioning prosecution witnesses — even surprising Sokola with her own private journal — to try to undermine their credibility. The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Sokola, Mann and Haley have agreed to be named. Columnists Other Sports Ontario Toronto & GTA Canada
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Weinstein retrial nears end as lawyers argue: sexual predator or #MeToo 'poster boy'?
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's lawyer portrayed him as the falsely accused 'original sinner" of the #MeToo era, while a prosecutor told jurors at his sex crimes retrial Tuesday that the former movie mogul preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up. The two sides took very different tones in their closing arguments, which are due to conclude Wednesday. Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, veered into folksy jokes and theatricality — sometimes re-enacting witnesses' behavior — as he contended that his client engaged in a 'courting game,' not crimes. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, as direct as Aidala was discursive, urged jurors to focus on Weinstein's accusers and their days of grueling testimony. 'This was not a 'courting game,' as Mr. Aidala wants you to believe. This was not a 'transaction,'' she told jurors. 'This was never about 'fooling around.' It was about rape.' The majority-female jury is expected to start deliberations at some point Wednesday, inheriting a case that was seen as a #MeToo watershed when Weinstein was convicted five years ago. It ended up being retried, and reshaped, because an appeals court overturned the 2020 verdict. Weinstein, the former Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast, has pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in 2013 and forcing oral sex on two others, separately, in 2006. Aidala argued that everything that happened between the ex-producer and his accusers was a consensual, if 'transactional," exchange of favors. The attorney accused prosecutors of 'trying to police the bedroom' and zeroing in on the man seen as 'the poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement.' 'They tried to do it five years ago, and now there's a redo, and they're trying to do it again,' he told jurors. His hours-long summation touched on matters from the acclaimed, Weinstein-co-produced 1994 film 'Pulp Fiction' to his own marriage and his grandmother's Italian gravy, at times playing for — and getting — laughs from jurors and Weinstein. Aidala depicted the former studio boss as a self-made New Yorker, while painting Weinstein's accusers as troubled and canny 'women with broken dreams' who plied him for movie opportunities and other perks, kept engaging with him for years and then turned on him to cash in on his #MeToo undoing. All three received compensation through legal processes separate from the criminal trial. Blumberg countered that Weinstein interpreted a sexual 'no' as a cue to 'push a little bit more, and if they still say no, just take it anyway.' She argued that his accusers stayed in friendly contact with Weinstein because they were trying to work in entertainment, and they feared their careers would be squashed if they crossed him. 'He chose people who he thought would be the perfect victims, who he could rape and keep silent,' the prosecutor said. 'He underestimated them.' Weinstein had a decades-long run as one of the movie industry's most influential people. In 2017, allegations of sexual assault and harassment tanked his career and catalyzed the #MeToo movement, which seeks accountability for sexual misconduct. He was subsequently convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to prison in New York and California. His California appeal hasn't been decided. Since the New York retrial opened April 23, prosecutors have brought in more than two dozen witnesses. The prosecution centered on Weinstein's three accusers, who each faced days of questions. In often graphic and sometimes tearful testimony, the women said the Oscar-winning producer used his showbiz stature as a hook to prey on them. Jessica Mann, who accused Weinstein of rape, was a hairstylist hoping to make it as an actor when she met him. The sexual assault accusers also were trying to build careers in entertainment: Miriam Haley was a production assistant and producer, and Kaja Sokola was a teenage model who wanted to get into acting. Prosecutors added Sokola's allegations to the case for the retrial. But some other accusers from the first trial weren't part of the second. The appeals court said it was prejudicial to include their accusations, which never resulted in charges. Weinstein, 73, decided not to testify. His attorneys presented a few witnesses to cast doubts on certain aspects of the accusers' accounts. But Weinstein's defense also relied heavily on questioning prosecution witnesses — even surprising Sokola with her own private journal — to try to undermine their credibility. The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Sokola, Mann and Haley have agreed to be named.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Weinstein retrial nears end as lawyers argue: sexual predator or #MeToo 'poster boy'?
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's lawyer portrayed him as the falsely accused 'original sinner" of the #MeToo era, while a prosecutor told jurors at his sex crimes retrial Tuesday that the former movie mogul preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up. The two sides took very different tones in their closing arguments, which are due to conclude Wednesday. Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, veered into folksy jokes and theatricality — sometimes re-enacting witnesses' behavior — as he contended that his client engaged in a 'courting game,' not crimes. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, as direct as Aidala was discursive, urged jurors to focus on Weinstein's accusers and their days of grueling testimony. 'This was not a 'courting game,' as Mr. Aidala wants you to believe. This was not a 'transaction,'' she told jurors. 'This was never about 'fooling around.' It was about rape.' The majority-female jury is expected to start deliberations at some point Wednesday, inheriting a case that was seen as a #MeToo watershed when Weinstein was convicted five years ago. It ended up being retried, and reshaped, because an appeals court overturned the 2020 verdict. Weinstein, the former Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast, has pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in 2013 and forcing oral sex on two others, separately, in 2006. Aidala argued that everything that happened between the ex-producer and his accusers was a consensual, if 'transactional," exchange of favors. The attorney accused prosecutors of 'trying to police the bedroom' and zeroing in on the man seen as 'the poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement.' 'They tried to do it five years ago, and now there's a redo, and they're trying to do it again,' he told jurors. His hours-long summation touched on matters from the acclaimed, Weinstein-co-produced 1994 film 'Pulp Fiction' to his own marriage and his grandmother's Italian gravy, at times playing for — and getting — laughs from jurors and Weinstein. Aidala depicted the former studio boss as a self-made New Yorker, while painting Weinstein's accusers as troubled and canny 'women with broken dreams' who plied him for movie opportunities and other perks, kept engaging with him for years and then turned on him to cash in on his #MeToo undoing. All three received compensation through legal processes separate from the criminal trial. Blumberg countered that Weinstein interpreted a sexual 'no' as a cue to 'push a little bit more, and if they still say no, just take it anyway.' She argued that his accusers stayed in friendly contact with Weinstein because they were trying to work in entertainment, and they feared their careers would be squashed if they crossed him. 'He chose people who he thought would be the perfect victims, who he could rape and keep silent,' the prosecutor said. 'He underestimated them.' Weinstein had a decades-long run as one of the movie industry's most influential people. In 2017, allegations of sexual assault and harassment tanked his career and catalyzed the #MeToo movement, which seeks accountability for sexual misconduct. He was subsequently convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to prison in New York and California. His California appeal hasn't been decided. Since the New York retrial opened April 23, prosecutors have brought in more than two dozen witnesses. The prosecution centered on Weinstein's three accusers, who each faced days of questions. In often graphic and sometimes tearful testimony, the women said the Oscar-winning producer used his showbiz stature as a hook to prey on them. Jessica Mann, who accused Weinstein of rape, was a hairstylist hoping to make it as an actor when she met him. The sexual assault accusers also were trying to build careers in entertainment: Miriam Haley was a production assistant and producer, and Kaja Sokola was a teenage model who wanted to get into acting. Prosecutors added Sokola's allegations to the case for the retrial. But some other accusers from the first trial weren't part of the second. The appeals court said it was prejudicial to include their accusations, which never resulted in charges. Weinstein, 73, decided not to testify. His attorneys presented a few witnesses to cast doubts on certain aspects of the accusers' accounts. But Weinstein's defense also relied heavily on questioning prosecution witnesses — even surprising Sokola with her own private journal — to try to undermine their credibility. The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Sokola, Mann and Haley have agreed to be named.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Weinstein retrial nears end as lawyers argue: sexual predator or #MeToo ‘poster boy'?
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's lawyer portrayed him as the falsely accused 'original sinner' of the #MeToo era, while a prosecutor told jurors at his sex crimes retrial Tuesday that the former movie mogul preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up. The two sides took very different tones in their closing arguments, which are due to conclude Wednesday. Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, veered into folksy jokes and theatricality — sometimes re-enacting witnesses' behavior — as he contended that his client engaged in a 'courting game,' not crimes. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, as direct as Aidala was discursive, urged jurors to focus on Weinstein's accusers and their days of grueling testimony. 'This was not a 'courting game,' as Mr. Aidala wants you to believe. This was not a 'transaction,'' she told jurors. 'This was never about 'fooling around.' It was about rape.' The majority-female jury is expected to start deliberations at some point Wednesday, inheriting a case that was seen as a #MeToo watershed when Weinstein was convicted five years ago. It ended up being retried, and reshaped, because an appeals court overturned the 2020 verdict. Weinstein, the former Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast, has pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in 2013 and forcing oral sex on two others, separately, in 2006. Aidala argued that everything that happened between the ex-producer and his accusers was a consensual, if 'transactional,' exchange of favors. The attorney accused prosecutors of 'trying to police the bedroom' and zeroing in on the man seen as 'the poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement.' 'They tried to do it five years ago, and now there's a redo, and they're trying to do it again,' he told jurors. His hours-long summation touched on matters from the acclaimed, Weinstein-co-produced 1994 film 'Pulp Fiction' to his own marriage and his grandmother's Italian gravy, at times playing for — and getting — laughs from jurors and Weinstein. Aidala depicted the former studio boss as a self-made New Yorker, while painting Weinstein's accusers as troubled and canny 'women with broken dreams' who plied him for movie opportunities and other perks, kept engaging with him for years and then turned on him to cash in on his #MeToo undoing. All three received compensation through legal processes separate from the criminal trial. Blumberg countered that Weinstein interpreted a sexual 'no' as a cue to 'push a little bit more, and if they still say no, just take it anyway.' She argued that his accusers stayed in friendly contact with Weinstein because they were trying to work in entertainment, and they feared their careers would be squashed if they crossed him. 'He chose people who he thought would be the perfect victims, who he could rape and keep silent,' the prosecutor said. 'He underestimated them.' Weinstein had a decades-long run as one of the movie industry's most influential people. In 2017, allegations of sexual assault and harassment tanked his career and catalyzed the #MeToo movement, which seeks accountability for sexual misconduct. He was subsequently convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to prison in New York and California. His California appeal hasn't been decided. Since the New York retrial opened April 23, prosecutors have brought in more than two dozen witnesses. The prosecution centered on Weinstein's three accusers, who each faced days of questions. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. In often graphic and sometimes tearful testimony, the women said the Oscar-winning producer used his showbiz stature as a hook to prey on them. Jessica Mann, who accused Weinstein of rape, was a hairstylist hoping to make it as an actor when she met him. The sexual assault accusers also were trying to build careers in entertainment: Miriam Haley was a production assistant and producer, and Kaja Sokola was a teenage model who wanted to get into acting. Prosecutors added Sokola's allegations to the case for the retrial. But some other accusers from the first trial weren't part of the second. The appeals court said it was prejudicial to include their accusations, which never resulted in charges. Weinstein, 73, decided not to testify. His attorneys presented a few witnesses to cast doubts on certain aspects of the accusers' accounts. But Weinstein's defense also relied heavily on questioning prosecution witnesses — even surprising Sokola with her own private journal — to try to undermine their credibility. The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Sokola, Mann and Haley have agreed to be named.
