Harvey Weinstein Accusers React to Rape Conviction Overturned: “Profoundly Unjust”

Jackie Strause
·9 min read
6

In a stunning twist to the landmark #MeToo case, the New York state Court of Appeals has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction.

The highest court in New York state’s judicial system ruled on Thursday that the judge in the New York County trial prejudiced Weinstein with improper rulings, including allowing women to testify about allegations that were not part of the case.

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The decision orders a new trial take place.

“Under our system of justice, the accused has a right to be held to account only for the crime charged and, thus, allegations of prior bad acts may not be admitted against them for the sole purpose of establishing their propensity for criminality. Nor may the prosecution use ‘prior convictions or proof of the prior commission of specific, criminal, vicious or immoral acts’ other than to impeach the accused’s credibility,” wrote Judge Jenny Rivera in her ruling. “It is our solemn duty to diligently guard these rights regardless of the crime charged, the reputation of the accused or the pressure to convict.”

Weinstein’s lawyer in the appellate case, Arthur Aidala, said, according to The Associated Press, “We all worked very hard and this is a tremendous victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York.”

Aidala held a press conference in Manhattan early Thursday afternoon where he said, “Harvey Weinstein did not get a fair trial.”

Aidala told reporters, including The Hollywood Reporter, while standing in front of 100 Centre Street, where former President Donald Trump is currently on trial, “You can’t throw out 100 years of legal precedent because someone is unpopular. Today’s legal ruling is a great day for America because it instills in us the faith that there is a justice system.”

A spokesperson for the Manhattan D.A.’s office told THR earlier Thursday: “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”

“We’re cautiously excited,” Weinstein’s spokesperson Juda Engelmayer had told Deadline shortly after the ruling was made public. “He still has a long road ahead of him because of the Los Angeles case. We are studying the ramifications of the appeal right now.”

Douglas H. Wigdor, who has represented eight Weinstein victims including two of the Molineux witnesses at the New York criminal trial, called the ruling a “major step back” and a decision that will ask the victims to relive the trial.

“Today’s decision is a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence,” he said in a statement sent to THR. “Courts routinely admit evidence of other uncharged acts where they assist juries in understanding issues concerning the intent, modus operandi or scheme of the defendant. The jury was instructed on the relevance of this testimony and overturning the verdict is tragic in that it will require the victims to endure yet another trial.”

The Silence Breakers, the group of sexual assault survivors and Weinstein accusers who represent more than 90 women, called the decision “profoundly unjust” but explained why it’s also “merely a setback.”

Their statement sent to THR reads: “The news today is not only disheartening, but it’s profoundly unjust. But this ruling does not diminish the validity of our experiences or our truth; it’s merely a setback. The man found guilty continues to serve time in a California prison. When survivors everywhere broke their silence in 2017, the world changed. We continue to stand strong and advocate for that change. We will continue to fight for justice for survivors everywhere.”

Anita Hill, chair and president of The Hollywood Commission, said in a statement to THR: “Today’s decision reinforces what we already know through our survey of over 13,000 entertainment workers. We have seen a lack of progress in addressing the power imbalances that allow abuse to occur and that sexual assault continues to be a pervasive problem. Many survivors do not pursue justice because they believe nothing will be done. Today’s decision underscores the urgent need for systemic changes in our institutions — and redoubles our commitment to survivors to push for the policies and systems that will ensure accountability and bring about workplaces free from the behavior that drives the need for these systems in the first place.”

Weinstein accuser Rosanna Arquette told THR: “Harvey was rightfully convicted. It’s unfortunate that the court has overturned his conviction. As a survivor, I am beyond disappointed.”

Actress Katherine Kendall, one of Weinstein’s accusers, said in a statement to THR: “As we all know, victims of sexual assault who go up against powerful men rarely receive justice through our justice system. This needs to change; victims need to continue breaking the silence, and our culture needs to continue believing and supporting them.

“No matter where Harvey Weinstein goes, his name will be synonymous with sexual predators everywhere. He will live in a prison of his own making until the day he dies.”

She added, “I continue to stand proudly with the #MeToo movement, regardless of this or any other court ruling.”

Trauma expert Louise Godbold, who also was among Weinstein’s victims, told THR the decision “emboldens predators.”

“This is such horrible news for us and for anyone who was relying on prior bad acts to get a rape conviction,” she said in a statement. “Two high-profile sexual abusers getting their convictions overturned? We’re going to hear the ‘MeToo went too far’ refrain. No matter that in the eyes of the world these men are guilty. No matter that the women they assaulted still live with the consequences of that violence. It’s sickening.”

Ashley Judd, the first actress to come forward with accusations against Weinstein, gave her quick reaction to The New York Times on Thursday, saying, “That is unfair to survivors. We still live in our truth. And we know what happened.”

Amber Tamblyn, the actress and activist, said the conviction being overturned is “a loss to the entire community of women who put their lives and careers on the line to speak out.” But she hopes it reinvigorates the #MeToo movement everywhere: “I hope that it reignites people and their passion to not just say they want equality, not just say they want safety, but to really work towards it,” she told the Times.

Rose McGowan, one of the earliest voices to speak out on Weinstein’s abuses, shared a video response to her Instagram where she said, “I’m proud of how far we’ve come. How much we’ve awakened. What we know of ourselves to be true and what we know of others to be true. No matter what they overturn, they cannot take away who we are, what we’ve gone through and what we can achieve in this life.” Her caption read: “They will never overturn who we are.”

Weinstein survivor Sarah Ann Masse, an actor (who played reporter Emily Steel in the Weinstein movie She Said), writer, filmmaker and president and founder of the nonprofit Hire Survivors Hollywood, told THR that regardless of the ruling, “the truth of what Harvey Weinstein did was never in question.”

She continued, “Long before the trials, long before the silence was broken in the press, long before this was international news, those of us who were abused by him knew that this man was a sexual predator. The subsequent court rulings served as a form of justice, an affirmation that we were believed, and a step towards challenging societal beliefs that are built on a foundation of rape culture and victim blaming. But please know that nothing about today’s decision implies or states that Weinstein is innocent. And the world has been forever changed by the women who were brave enough to challenge him in court.

“However, this is a stark reminder that the criminal justice system is not set up to serve actual justice and that anyone insisting that ‘MeToo is over’ or ‘has gone too far’ needs to look at the actual state of the world. Abusers are given chance after chance to get back their ‘normal lives’ while survivors continue to suffer from a lack of support, prolonged trauma, chronic illnesses, mental health struggles, economic harm and various forms of retaliation.

“Today — and every day — I stand in solidarity with my fellow survivors. Please remember: You are loved, you are valued, you are believed.”

Mira Sorvino, the Oscar-winning actress who came forward against the media mogul to accuse him of sexual harassment and retaliation, said she was “gutsick” over the news, saying the justice system is “skewed towards predators” and not victims. “To all of my sister/brother/fellow survivors out there, it just means we have to love harder, and fight harder. Evil rears its ugly head but we are the army of light and will prevail,” she wrote on an Instagram post.

In February of 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of criminal sexual assault in the first degree, based on the testimony of former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley, and rape in the third degree, based on the testimony of onetime aspiring actress Jessica Mann. He was acquitted on three other charges and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Weinstein also went to trial in Los Angeles, where he was convicted in December 2022 of rape. That conviction means that Weinstein will remain in prison if a new New York trial gets established.

Evgeniya Chernyshova was Jane Doe 1 in the criminal proceedings brought against Weinstein in Los Angeles. She revealed her identity in a profile with THR after the criminal case concluded, in February 2023.

Her attorney David Ring of L.A. firm Taylor & Ring told THR on Thursday that he and his client are “confident” the rape conviction will be upheld.

“Evgeniya Chernyshova (Jane Doe 1 in the Los Angeles criminal case) is obviously disappointed that the criminal convictions against Weinstein were overturned in the New York case,” said Ring, who is representing Chernyshova in a pending civil lawsuit against Weinstein. “She feels badly for those victims who endured that trial and the subsequent appeals, only to see the convictions reversed. However, both she and I are confident that Weinstein’s Los Angeles conviction for rape will be upheld. As the only victim who has now obtained a criminal conviction against Weinstein, she will continue to stand tall and do whatever necessary to obtain justice not only for herself but for all victims.”

The convictions in New York and Los Angeles ended Weinstein’s career as an entertainment titan. The film producer, Miramax and The Weinstein Co. co-founder wielded tremendous power in Hollywood, rising from a concert promoter to a mogul, until, in October 2017, a pair of investigative reports from The New York Times and The New Yorker explored years of abuse and sexual assault that Weinstein was ultimately found guilty of. The verdicts were hailed as marking a new era of justice in the #MeToo era.

This is a developing story.

Alex Weprin, Hilary Lewis, Caitlin Huston, Jeanie Pyun and Rebecca Keegan contributed to this report.

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