Latest news with #ArthurAidala
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Associated 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. 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.
The Independent
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Weinstein retrial nears end as lawyers argue: sexual predator or #MeToo 'poster boy'?
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.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Weinstein lawyer brands accusers ‘women with broken dreams'
Harvey Weinstein appears in state court in Manhattan for his retrial on Friday, May 30, 2025 in New York. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times via AP, Pool) NEW YORK — The lawyer defending fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein from rape and sexual assault charges called those testifying against his client 'women with broken dreams' as he made his final pitch to jurors. 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. 'If there is a doubt about their case, you gotta throw it out. These are the people they want you to believe, they're all women with broken dreams,' defense attorney Arthur Aidala said of the women who testified against Weinstein at this trial. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg fired back saying that 'we are here because (Weinstein) raped three people -- that's why we are here.' Her closing argument will continue Wednesday. Judge Curtis Farber will then give instructions to the jury, who will deliberate on a verdict . 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. 'He didn't listen' Some 20 years after the earliest incidents were alleged to have taken place, Aidala sought to cast doubt on the credibility of the accusers. He said it was not a question of whether his client engaged in sexual relations with the three women, but if those encounters were consensual. He described the encounters as 'transactional' and 'casting couch' scenarios involving young women who used their beauty and charm to make an older man open doors for them. Prosecutor Blumberg countered that 'this is not a transaction, it was never about fooling around, it was about rape.' But Aidala insisted Weinstein was the one who was used, countering prosecutors who portrayed Weinstein as an all-powerful Hollywood figure. Aidala loudly reeled off metaphors to explain his version of events, seeking to win over the jury with jokes. He mimicked the victims to highlight inconsistencies, likening one of them to a child caught in a lie. The veteran defense attorney stressed that victims continued to associate with Weinstein after the alleged assaults, something they did not dispute, explaining that they feared jeopardizing their careers. Blumberg said 'they knew it was necessary to stay on his side. They feared his retaliation, they buried (their) trauma as if nothing had happened.' During the trial, the three victims testified that their sexual encounters with Weinstein were not consensual. The retrial also heard new evidence from Kaja Sokola, a Polish former model who testified that Weinstein first sexually assaulted her when she was a minor at age 16. She said one occasion Weinstein pushed her onto a bed and forced her to have sex. 'I told him to stop,' she said, 'but he didn't listen.' Weinstein has appeared daily in a wheelchair, physically subdued, but laughing and joking with his legal team. This time, hearings have received less media attention, taking place in the shadow of the highly anticipated trial of hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, on trial blocks away at federal court on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
France 24
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Harvey Weinstein lawyer asks jury to give him benefit of the doubt
A New York state appeals court had thrown out his 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. "If there is a doubt about their case, you gotta throw it out. These are the people they want you to believe, they're all women with broken dreams," defense attorney Arthur Aidala said of the women who testified against Weinstein at this trial. Prosecutors will make their case to the jury later Tuesday. Weinstein, the producer of box-office hits "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love," has never acknowledged wrongdoing. 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 the 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 were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals, which ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original trial was unlawful. The retrial also heard new evidence from Kaja Sokola, a Polish former model who testified that the disgraced movie mogul sexually assaulted her when she was a minor at age 16.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes retrial continues with closing arguments
Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes retrial in New York City will likely be handed to the jury on Wednesday morning, Judge Curtis Farber said Tuesday, shortly before closing arguments began. Weinstein, 73, was granted a new trial after the state's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction, saying the original judge allowed prejudicial testimony from alleged victims whose accusations were not part of the charges against him. The defense rested its case Tuesday without Weinstein taking the stand. His attorney, Arthur Aidala, said his client carefully weighed whether to testify and ultimately decided not to. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. Defense goes first during closing arguments After settling some administrative matters, Farber ordered the jury brought in around 11 a.m. He said closing arguments would likely take until the end of the day. Aidala asked jurors to use their common sense, as he broke down testimony from each of the three female accusers and pointed out instances where he claims they lied. He argued there was never any evidence of sexual assault and that anything that happened between his client and the accusers was consensual. The charges against Harvey Weinstein Weinstein is charged with raping actress Jessica Mann and forcing oral sex on production assistant Miriam Haley and model Kaja Sokola. During the six-week retrial, jurors heard testimony from all three accusers. Each gave emotional and graphic accounts of what they say they endured. Mann, now a 39-year-old cosmetologist and hairstylist who at one time had a consensual relationship with Weinstein, was the final accuser to testify. She claims Weinstein raped her at a New York hotel in 2013. Haley, a 48-year-old former production assistant, was the first accuser to testify. She says Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her when she went to his apartment in July 2006. Sokola, 39, alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel in 2006 when she was 19 years old. Jurors also heard from Sokola's former roommate. An ex-aide who worked for Weinstein's production company also testified.
