Film producer Harvey Weinstein stands trial again

Harvey Weinstein, who for years determined who played which role in Hollywood, has lost power. Once again he finds himself in a role he never wanted: that of the accused.

The process against the film mogul, now 70 years old, is currently underway in Los Angeles. Five women have accused him of sexual assaults that allegedly took place between 2004 and 2013, mostly in Beverly Hills hotels.

The process is almost a sequel: in 2020 a court in New York sentenced him to 23 years in prison for serious sexual assault and rape.

Eleven counts, numerous witnesses

In the place where he was once celebrated as a producer, Weinstein seems like a broken old man these days. He is charged with eleven counts. As if to compensate for the years of silence in the industry, the details of the alleged attacks have now been discussed for several weeks. According to media reports, around 80 people are to testify in Los Angeles, including celebrities such as action star Mel Gibson or Jennifer Siebel Newsom, former actress, filmmaker and wife of the California governor.

Weinstein masturbated in front of the women, harassed them and forced them to have oral sex, Paul Thompson said at the beginning of the trial. The prosecutor relies on testimonies from the victims, which mostly paint the same picture: Weinstein met with them in a hotel room, allegedly to discuss role offers. Instead, he coerced her into sexual acts.

The sex was consensual, countered Weinstein’s attorney, Mark Werksman, in his opening statement at the end of October. The women would have hoped for a career jump in Hollywood. “Look at him,” the attorney said, looking at Weinstein. “He’s not Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Who thinks these beautiful women have sex with him because he’s so attractive? No, they did it because he was powerful.”

The statements illustrate the impact of the #Metoo movement. In the meantime, hardly anyone would shrug off an industry in which the “casting couch” and “exchange sex” are part of normal everyday work. Weinstein’s lawyers are trying to capitalize on exactly that. In her portrayal, Harvey Weinstein has only been perceived as monstrous since #Metoo raised social awareness of the boundaries between sexism and assault. Or to put it another way: you measure your old deeds against new standards. Because there is usually no evidence of sex crimes and the credibility of those affected is all the more important, his defense lawyers also try to cast doubt on the integrity of the witnesses.

Could Weinstein be released?

In New York, the well-known film producer did not get through with this argument. His conviction two years ago was symbolic: Even the influential and supposedly untouchable have to pay for their transgressions, that’s how many interpreted the sign. The United Nations even spoke of a “turning point” in dealing with victims of sexual violence.

If Weinstein is convicted again in Los Angeles, he faces life imprisonment. But it could also turn out very differently.

The New York Supreme Court allowed him to appeal the first verdict at the end of August. This gives Weinstein a second chance to convince the New York jury of his innocence. The local appeals court is expected to take up the case in 2023.

The decision came as a surprise to many. “It is disturbing and shocking that Harvey Weinstein has been allowed to continue his appeal in New York, and that is why we – survivors and supporters – are following the Los Angeles trial with close attention,” Caitlin Dulany told the New York Times. The actress accuses Weinstein of sexually harassing and assaulting her in the mid-1990s.

Because with the New York Court of Appeal’s permission to challenge the conviction, the case in California suddenly gains much more importance. It may no longer be just an extra loop in which Weinstein gets a few more years in prison, but decisive for his future. If Weinstein is actually released on the East Coast, the nine men and three women on the West Coast jury will decide whether he remains incarcerated or is released from prison anyway.

#Metoo activists fear an acquittal could send out a signal: If not even Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 90 women, will be held accountable for his actions, who will?

From the courtroom to the cinema hall

It is unclear when a verdict will be pronounced in California. The process is expected to last six to eight weeks and, according to observers, may drag on until December.

The negotiation thus overlaps with the theatrical release of the film “She Said”. The German director Maria Schrader brings to the screen the research of the two “New York Times” reporters who started the Weinstein scandal in 2017. The strip about the decline of the once powerful film producer is already being traded as the next Oscar winner.

The judge in Los Angeles rejected a request by the defense to postpone the trial until after the theatrical release. During the ongoing trial, however, she warned that the jury should not watch the trailer. Weinstein’s attorneys fear the film adaptation could affect the jury.

Because in the film, the outcome of the story is certain. Not in real life. Both worlds revolve around the question: Who does the audience believe?