Manhattan prosecutors painted a scathing portrait of Harvey Weinstein at the beginning of his sexual abuse retrial Wednesday, presenting the former Hollywood mogul as a serial predator who wielded his power like a weapon against women.
Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey described Weinstein as an entertainment industry kingmaker who “held unfettered power for over 30 years” and “preyed” on women — including the three accusers whose allegations led to the criminal charges at the center of the trial.
He “wanted their bodies,” Lucey said, referring to the alleged victims Mimi Haley, Kaja Sokola and Jessica Mann.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree. He has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual misconduct dating back decades.
Lucey, in her opening statement, described Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse of the three accusers in stark and oftentimes graphic terms. She recounted allegations that Weinstein violently forced himself on them and ignored their pleas to stop.
Lucey said Weinstein, “a titan in the industry,” drew in the women by offering to discuss their careers. But the accusers found that he was after something else entirely.
“He knew how addictive Hollywood dreams were,” Lucey said. “He knew how the promises of success worked. He strung them along with promises of careers, letters to help, parts in movies… He simply did not take no for an answer and, if he was told no, he got what he wanted by force.”
Haley, a former “Project Runway” production assistant, and Sokola, a former model, allege Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on them in separate incidents in 2006. Mann, a former aspiring actress, alleges Weinstein raped her in 2013.
The accusers discovered they were “no match for the man who walked red carpets and rubbed elbows with the famous,” Lucey said. “They stayed quiet for years,” she added, out of “their fear of what he might do to them.”
Weinstein’s lead attorney, Arthur Aidalia, forcefully pushed back against Lucey’s account of events in his opening statement. “What she said to you is not evidence,” Aidalia told jurors at the beginning of his remarks.
Aidalia implored jurors not to make premature judgements about Weinstein’s character or behavior, drawing on an analogy from his client’s former profession: “You don’t judge a movie by the preview.”
“You need to read the whole book and watch the whole movie and put it all in context,” Aidalia said, adding that his team believes “there are reasonable doubts” in the prosecution’s case.
He went on to argue that Weinstein’s sexual encounters with the accusers were “transactional,” characterizing them as “friends with benefits” arrangements that were “mutually beneficial” and “consensual.”
In the case of the three women at the root of the charges, Aidalia added, “the casting couch is not a crime scene.”
The jury of seven women and five men appeared to listen intently during opening statements. In a statement, Weinstein’s spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, said his client’s team believes “the jury selected is one that can assess the facts with clarity and impartiality.”
“We are hopeful that this time, the legal process will rise above noise and narrative and allow Harvey Weinstein the fair trial he’s long been denied. He deserves the chance to clear his name and preserve a legacy that has been overshadowed by deeply flawed and misleading accusations,” Engelmayer said.
Weinstein’s retrial arrives a year after New York’s highest court overturned the Oscar-winning producer’s conviction on third-degree rape in a 2020 case. The court found the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony based on allegations that were not part of the case.
Haley and Mann’s allegations were part of the first New York trial. Sokola’s allegations are a new element. Weinstein was indicted in September on charges related to her claims.
Weinstein has remained in prison because he was convicted in 2022 of another rape in Los Angeles and sentenced to 16 years. The former producer’s lawyers are appealing that conviction.
In recent years, Weinstein has faced various health issues, including a diagnosis of bone marrow cancer. He arrives at court in a wheelchair.
Weinstein and his brother, Bob, once lorded over Hollywood. Miramax, their first distribution label, released seminal films such as “The Crying Game” and “Pulp Fiction.” Harvey Weinstein won an Oscar as a producer of “Shakespeare in Love.” In the early 2010s, the brothers’ second distribution firm scored best picture wins for “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist.”
Weinstein’s reign came crashing down in 2017 after The New York Times and The New Yorker published exposes detailing his alleged pattern of sexual harassment and assault.
The publication of those articles made Weinstein’s accusers realize they no longer needed to keep in their “shame and pain,” Lucey said, adding: “They suddenly realized they were not alone, they would not be isolated or targeted but would be taken seriously.
In all, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of misconduct. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said his sexual encounters were consensual.
