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Harvey Weinstein Has Been Found Guilty of First Degree Sexual Assault and Third Degree Rape


A New York jury has returned a verdict in the Harvey Weinstein trial. The disgraced movie mogul has been found guilty on two counts—a criminal sexual act against former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley and rape in the third degree of an unnamed victim. He was acquitted of two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of rape in the first degree against Jessica Mann, according to CNN.

The jury of seven men and five women took five days to deliberate before the verdict was announced on February 24. Weinstein will face a minimum five-year sentence on the charges.

It was the stories of Weinstein’s harassment and abuse of women, as documented by Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor for the New York Times and Ronan Farrow for the New Yorker, which set off the new era of #MeToo. (The hashtag was first coined by activist Tarana Burke.) Weinstein denied their claims, but the prosecution called numerous witnesses during the trial, including actors like Annabella Sciorra and Mann to discuss their own allegations against Weinstein.

On Friday afternoon, according to the Hollywood Reporter, the jury was seemingly deadlocked on the two most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which carried a possible life sentence, but was unanimous on the three lesser charges. Weinstein was ultimately acquitted of the two counts of predatory sexual assault, and an alternative count of rape in the first degree.

“Thank you for the care and concentration, concern, and attention you have given to your deliberations,” Judge James Burke reportedly told the jury before their dismissal.

Weinstein faces a minimum of five years in prison with a 25-year maximum for the sexual assault charge and 18 months to four years for the third-degree rape. Sentencing for Weinstein in this case is scheduled for March 11, and Weinstein still faces four charges of sexual assault in Los Angeles.



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Gigi Hadid, Patriot, Shows Up For Jury Duty For Harvey Weinstein Case


To quote one iconic tabloid column: Stars—they’re just like us.

On Monday morning, supermodel Gigi Hadid strutted toward the State Supreme Court in Manhattan to fulfill her civic responsibilities and report for jury duty. The 24-year-old was one of around 120 New Yorkers who answered the selection summons for Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial. If chosen, Hadid will help decide whether Weinstein serves a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in 2013 and forcing oral sex on another woman in 2006. (He denies the charges; Weinstein is also facing a trial in Los Angeles, where he has been charged with forcible rape and forcible oral sex, as well as sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint. The former movie-mogul claims these interactions were consensual.)

Molly Crane-Newman, a court reporter for the New York Daily News, reported that Hadid raised her hand when Judge James Burke asked if any of the potential jurors knew anyone on the defense or prosecution. She was seated just 20 feet from Weinstein.

“I have met the defendant,” Hadid said. “I have met Salma Hayek and possibly Ryan Beatty.”

But she added, “I think I’m still able to keep an open mind on the facts.”

Hayek, currently starring in Like A Boss, published an op-ed in the New York Times in 2017 in which she claimed Weinstein harassed her when she starred in his 2002 movie Frida. Ryan Beatty is a pop singer.

Crane-Newman tweeted that Weinstein’s lawyer, Donna Rotunno, responded to the possibility of Hadid sitting on the Weinstein jury, saying, “She can be fair like everyone else.”

Earlier this week, per Deadline, Weinstein’s team submitted a motion that would have barred the media from being present during the questioning of potential jurors. Judge Burke denied the motion—and good thing, or we might have missed out both on our rights to transparent criminal justice proceedings and visuals of Hadid’s iconic courtroom fashion. (Peep her immaculate white T, oversized men’s blazer, and gold-rimmed aviators here.) But in all seriousness, it’s nice to see a famous person be a responsible citizen.

Over 2,000 New Yorkers have reportedly been summoned for selection in the Weinstein case, and hundreds have already been dismissed over scheduling issues or concerns with bias. Better to be like Hadid—show up for your country, show up for justice, show up for appropriating menswear to quietly telegraph that the violence-prone Boy’s Club in Hollywood is over, and our time has just begun. Then put that in your leopard-print bucket hat and smoke it.

Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour.





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Harvey Weinstein Claims He's a ‘Forgotten Man’ in New Interview


Harvey Weinstein is still in the middle of criminal proceedings on sexual assault charges, is soon due back in court, and has reached a tentative $25 million settlement with some of his accusers (which insurance will cover), but he still thinks he’s a victim in this situation.

The disgraced former movie mogul whom dozens of women have accused of sexual misconduct seems to be looking for sympathy in a new interview with the New York Post. Oh, and he would also like credit for all the work he did for women.

“I feel like the forgotten man,” he said. “I made more movies directed by women and about women than any filmmaker, and I’m talking about 30 years ago. I’m not talking about now when it’s vogue. I did it first! I pioneered it! It all got eviscerated because of what happened,” Weinstein said. “My work has been forgotten.”

Never mind that “what happened” was a whole lot of alleged abuse.

“I want this city to recognize who I was instead of what I’ve become,” he continued. Weinstein used a few examples from his past to try to make his point. “Gwyneth Paltrow in 2003 got $10 million to make a movie called View from the Top,” he said. “She was the highest-paid female actor in an independent film. Higher-paid than all the men.” He also cited “social issues” taken on in movies from his companies, Miramax and The Weinstein Company. “I understood the celebratory nature of the film [Paris Is Burning] and bought the distribution rights,” he said. “The same thing is true for Transamerica [for] which Felicity Huffman got an Academy Award.” (Huffman was nominated for an Oscar for her role in 2006, but did not win.)

In response to Weinstein’s interview, 23 women—including Judd, McGowan, and Rosanna Arquette—released the following statement to USA Today.

“Harvey Weinstein is trying to gaslight society again. He says in a new interview he doesn’t want to be forgotten. Well, he won’t be. He will be remembered as a sexual predator and an unrepentant abuser who took everything and deserves nothing,” The Silence Breakers said. “He will be remembered by the collective will of countless women who stood up and said enough. We refuse to let this predator rewrite his legacy of abuse.”



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Harvey Weinstein Won't Have To Pay Accusers Directly Or Admit Wrongdoing In Tentative Settlement


Disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein has reached a tentative $25 million settlement with his accusers, according to the New York Times. Since 2017, more than 30 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct—ranging from inappropriate groping to rape. (Weinstein has denied all claims of nonconsensual sex.) And their stories helped ignite the worldwide #MeToo movement.

While the accusations had a significant impact in the cultural conversation, some of his victims have continued to pursue justice through the legal process. But the New York Times reports that the terms of the tentative settlement agreement (which still have to be approved in court) mean that all the victims will have to divide the $25 million sum and Weinstein will never have to spend a dime of his own fortune or admit wrongdoing.

If the deal goes through, the funds will be paid out through insurance companies representing the Weinstein Company, which is in bankruptcy proceedings. The amount of the full settlement is closer to $47 million, a figure which includes the balances owed to other creditors and other legal fees. Of the leftovers, 18 victims will split $6.2 million (with each awarded no more than $500,000) and $18.5 million will go to a group that was part of a class-action case in New York. The victims will have to drop all charges against Weinstein and other executives, according to the Times.

Several claimants spoke to the Times and shared that while the settlement terms aren’t ideal, they plan to agree to it for various reasons. Katherine Kendall, who has alleged that Weinstein chased her around nude in his apartment in 1993, accepted the settlement in part because she “didn’t want to block fellow plaintiffs from getting whatever recompense they could.”

“I don’t love it, but I don’t know how to go after him,” she said. “I don’t know what I can really do.” Genie Harrison, a lawyer representing a former employee of Weinstein’s, added that she felt that waiting for new terms could leave her clients with nothing.

Weinstein still faces a criminal prosecution trial in January 2020 on charges of sexual assault that led to his arrest in 2018.



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Kelly Bachman Called out Harvey Weinstein and the Internet Went Wild. Now What?


But the fact is writing a funny joke about rape trauma is not an easy task. In the last month, I’ve written a new 15-minute set all about it, and I’ll be honest with you… It is very hit or miss. I am bombing, to be clear. If you’re (mercifully) unfamiliar with bombing, it’s when you make a joke, and no one laughs, but you keep going, usually desperately trying to resuscitate life back into a dead room of unimpressed audience members.

Every comedian has to bomb in order to learn, but of course it does not feel good. Bombing with a set of new jokes about your rape, is a very particular not-good feeling. Sometimes after I bomb on a set full of trauma jokes, the next comic up opens their set with a gag in which victims are the punchline. The joke usually kills, a little relief for the audience after my set. I don’t think people do it to hurt me, but sometimes it does hurt. I get a little emotional. Fine. I full on sob in public. Last time it happened, someone asked if I was upset about my set, and I yelled out, “NO, OF COURSE NOT, IT’S ALLERGIES!”

Which is true. I am clearly allergic…to my vulnerability.

I don’t want to censor other comedians, but I’ll admit it can be emotionally exhausting for me to hear, especially knowing what everyone knows about me. Sometimes I actually catch myself forcing a loud laugh, just in case someone is looking at me, gauging how I react. I don’t want to let them see me not laughing at a rape punchline. “HAHAHAHA! WHATEVER, IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL,” I might as well say. “LOOK AT ME. I’M A NORMAL, NOT-RAPED COMIC! I’M NORMAL LIKE YOU! HAHA, I’M JUST LIKE YOU! YOU CAN’T HURT ME! I’M INVINCIBLE!”

(Out here in the real world, odds are no one is looking at me, and I’m not even crossing their minds, but that’s trauma brain.)

The scariest part of trauma brain is knowing that even if 95,000 people out there on the Internet are rooting for me, I can still find a room where I will be met with booing or the words, “Shut up.” That would be the case whether I told rape jokes or not—again, all comics have to bomb. But bombing while attempting to work through trauma is just a tough pill to swallow.



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Ashley Judd’s Sexual Harassment Case Against Harvey Weinstein Was Just Dismissed


Actress Ashley Judd was one of the first women to publicly speak out against former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and in May of last year she filed a lawsuit against him alleging that her career was damaged by lies he spread about her in Hollywood after she spurned his sexual advances.

On January 9, a federal judge in California dismissed a portion of her suit, stating that her sexual harassment allegations did not fall within a specific legal statute. According to the New York Times, Judge Philip Gutierrez’s order was clear in saying that he was not ruling as to whether or not Judd as sexually harassed “in the colloquial sense of the term” but that the law could not be applied because she did not have a “specific business arrangement” with Weinstein at the time, which is a legal requirement.

So basically, the judge is not saying that Judd’s claim that Weinstein appeared in a bathrobe during a business meeting and asked her to let him massage her and watch him shower didn’t happen, just that it’s not sexual harassment under the California law because recent changes to the statue mandate that sexual harassment only applies if there is a specific business relationship between the parties. (The judge also did not state that it did happen.) That sounds like a pretty messed up law to me, especially given that Judd says the meeting was indeed about business.

Weinstein has continued to deny Judd’s accusations. “We have said from the beginning that this claim was unjustified, and we are pleased that the court saw it as we did,” Phyllis Kupferstein, one of Weinstein’s lawyers, said in a statement. “We believe that we will ultimately prevail on her remaining claims.”

Despite the recent setback, Judd is continuing with the rest of her case. “Nothing about today’s ruling changes that Ms. Judd’s case is moving forward on multiple claims,” Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., her lead attorney, said in a statement to the Times.



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