#MeToo Founder Calls For Unity, Perseverance After Weinstein Conviction Overturned

The #MeToo movement’s founder called for unity and perseverance following the surprise overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction by New York’s highest court on Thursday, even as the former movie mogul’s attorney celebrated the ruling as “a great day for America.”

“We are devastated to the survivors who are connected to this case, and the survivors who had found some solace and catharsis in the original verdict around Harvey Weinstein,” Tarana Burke, whose global campaign against sexual abuse took off amid the first allegations against Weinstein, said at a press conference following the New York Court of Appeals’ decision.

“The legal system has never served survivors in this country,” she said — even if, in the immediate wake of Weinstein’s conviction, survivors of rape and sexual assault hoped that “there was going to be a change.”

“This moment feels like we were wrong,” she said.

But Burke insisted that the #MeToo movement lives on, despite the ruling.

“Ten years ago we could not get a man like Harvey Weinstein into a courtroom,” she said. Since his arrest, millions of victims of sexual violence have found the strength and courage to speak out and share their stories as well, she said.

“That will always be the victory. This doesn’t change that,” she said while urging the movement’s supporters to keep standing up and using their voices.

The appeals court ruled 4-3 that the judge overseeing Weinstein’s trial allowed for improper behaviour, including the inclusion of “untested allegations” against Weinstein by women who were not complainants in the case.

Attorney Douglas Wigdor, who represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers, expressed disagreement with the court’s decision, calling it “tragic” and “a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence.”

“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,” he said in a statement. “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.”

Weinstein’s defence attorney, Arthur Aidala, argued that including those allegations unfairly put Weinstein on trial for crimes he hadn’t been charged with. Aidala said his law office was shocked and relieved by the news.

“We knew that Harvey Weinstein did not get a fair trial,” Aidala said at a separate press conference. He described the 72-year-old former Hollywood executive as “very gracious, very grateful” upon hearing the court’s decision from an upstate New York prison earlier that morning.

“It may sound like an exaggeration but it’s not: Today’s legal ruling is a great day for America because it instills in us the faith that there is a justice system,” Aidala said. He praised Judge Jenny Rivera, who wrote the court’s majority opinion, calling her “a real hero for women on this planet.”

Rivera “said you can’t convict someone based on their entire life and everything they’ve done in their life. You can’t allow more witnesses to come in and testify against the defendant than the defendant is actually charged with. You can’t do that,” Aidala said.

Weinstein will remain behind bars regardless of the court’s decision, as he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison. That verdict is also facing an appeal by Weinstein’s legal team.

In this New York case, Aidala said his client — who has maintained his complete innocence, arguing that all of his sexual relationships were consensual — will likely be moved to a facility in Manhattan so that the case can be retried.

“It’s like his case begins brand new,” he said.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the district will be ready to prosecute him again.

“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” spokesperson Emily Tuttle told Reuters.