Harvey Weinstein’s Defense Pushes for Acquittal in Ongoing Rape Case

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys called on jurors Tuesday to dismiss the rape case linked to the #MeToo movement, asserting that the former Hollywood executive deserves to be acquitted.

Attorney Marc Agnifilo claimed during closing arguments in Weinstein’s retrial regarding the alleged assault of hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a New York hotel in 2013 that “That’s just not true,” referring to the allegations. He insisted that Mann has accepted a misleading narrative about the events.

As prosecutors prepare to present their argument later in the day, jurors must examine the complexities of Weinstein and Mann’s longstanding relationship.

The two first connected in early 2013 while Mann was pursuing a career in Hollywood. Although she anticipated a professional interaction and was taken aback by Weinstein’s sexual advances, she eventually agreed to engage with the married Oscar winner.

Mann later recounted that shortly after their initial meetings, Weinstein unexpectedly took a hotel room and, when she made it clear she didn’t want a sexual relationship, he locked her in the room, forced her to undress, briefly left for the bathroom, and then raped her.

“He just treated me like I was his property,” Mann stated during her testimony last month.

While Weinstein chose not to testify, his defense contends that the encounter was consensual and stemmed from a caring relationship he had cultivated with Mann before the emergence of the #MeToo movement in 2017. They argue that the public scrutiny surrounding the allegations against him fueled a worldwide campaign against sexual misconduct. Weinstein admitted to having acted “wrongly,” but maintains he never assaulted anyone.

In 2020, he was convicted of raping Mann, but that conviction was overturned, and a jury was unable to reach a decision during his retrial last year.

Agnifilo highlighted on Tuesday that Mann’s testimony lacked solid corroboration and contained elements of implausibility, pointing out the warm communication they maintained before and after the allegations arose.

“Over the course of four years, she sought Harvey Weinstein’s support for her acting career. He tried his best to assist her emotionally and professionally,” Agnifilo remarked. “They had a close emotional bond. She trusted him. He was a significant figure in her life, and she expressed that to him.”

Regardless of the trial’s outcome, Weinstein is already convicted of other sexual offenses in New York and California, though he is in the process of appealing those convictions.

As a policy, the Associated Press refrains from identifying individuals who claim to be victims of sexual assault unless they choose to remain unidentified.