Harvey Weinstein accused of 'acting' as he shuffles into court on zimmer frame at start of long-awaited trial
Harvey Weinstein shuffled into a Manhattan courtroom on Monday with his zimmer frame to start his long-awaited trial, as one of the first women to accuse him, Rose McGowan, accused him of "acting" for sympathy.
Weinstein, 67, had surgery on his back in December following an August car crash. His haggard, hunched appearances at pre-trial hearings have shocked onlookers.
But in December the New York Post published photos, which they said were “recent”, of the producer without his zimmer frame, and suggested that Weinstein was using it to curry favour among possible jurors.
Hours after the first hearing ended, prosecutors on the other side of the country announced that they too were charging Weinstein with yet more crimes.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed four charges against Weinstein on Monday, accusing him of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint.
They allege that, in February 2013, Weinstein went to a hotel and raped a woman after pushing his way inside her room. The next evening, they claim that Weinstein sexually assaulted another woman at a hotel suite in Beverly Hills.
“We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit crimes against them,” said Jackie Lacey, the district attorney.
“I want to commend the victims who have come forward and bravely recounted what happened to them.”
In New York, Weinstein slowly made his way into court at 9:10am in a black suit, his tie askance. Hunched over, his pained smile was gone as he took his seat in the courtroom.
"I think he's taken some good acting tips," said McGowan.
Rosanna Arquette, who rejected Weinstein’s aggressive sexual overtures at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the early 1990s, said Weinstein looked like a “broken man” and avoided the women as they watched him arrive.
“He seemed cowardly,” she said. “He wouldn’t look at us, he wouldn’t make eye contact. Nothing has changed. We weren’t screaming; we just wanted to face him - and he avoided us.”
During the hearing Weinstein sat impassively as his lawyers begun proceedings.
The hearing was brief and procedural, but enlivened somewhat by the prosecution and defence sparring over a series of interviews which Weinstein and his team did in the weeks before the trial.
The disgraced film producer has been accused by more than 80 women of sexual assault and harassment since the floodgates were opened by the New York Times and New Yorker in October 2017. He has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.
He was arrested in May 2018, and his trial is the first of the #MeToo era. More than 150 journalists are accredited to cover the proceedings.
Despite the dozens of allegations, however, the trial hinges on the accusations made by two women – Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant, and a second unnamed accuser. Miss Haleyi says he forcefully performed oral sex on her in 2006 at his New York apartment, and the second woman accuses him of rape in 2013.
Bringing the case to trial has not been easy for either side.
Prosecutors were forced to drop one accuser, who had been central to the case. The lead detective was ousted over allegations of police misconduct. And Weinstein, who claims his sexual encounters were consensual, produced emails that he says show a long, intimate relationship that continued after the alleged rape.
The defence team has also struggled with their mercurial client. His current team of lawyers is his third, with previous legal experts walking away as the challenged proved insurmountable.
Weinstein himself has been accused of tampering with his electronic ankle bracelet, and tested the patience of the clearly annoyed judge who will preside over the proceedings. And last month he veered from his lawyers’ script with a widely-panned tabloid interview, in which he boasted of being a pioneering advocate for women in film and complained that his work had been forgotten.
On Monday, outside the courtroom, some of the famous faces who have accused him of rape and sexual assault spoke to voice their disgust at his alleged actions, and their relief that a trial was finally under way. Dressed in red, they stood on the steps of the courthouse and voiced their pride at finally seeing justice be done.
“Dear Harvey, no matter what lies you tell yourself, you did this,” said McGowan.
“Today, Lady Justice is staring down on a super predator. You brought this upon yourself by hurting so many. You have only yourself to blame.
“I came here today to see this through. I came here today to stand side by side with these other women who you also harmed and to be a voice for the voiceless like I was for so long.
“You thought you could terrorise me and others into silence. You were wrong,” she said.
Arquette said the trial marked a turning point not just in Hollywood.
“Time’s up on sexual harassment in all work places,” she said. “Time’s up on empty apologies without consequences. And time’s up on the pervasive culture of silence that has enabled abusers like Weinstein.
“These abusers that make it unsafe for women to go to work every morning, to take a business meeting, to report a crime without retaliation.
“The truth will prevail. And whether it is this trial or in the future, Harvey will be held accountable for his actions.”
Last week Weinstein told CNN that he had learnt the error of his ways, thanks to meditation and rehab, and hoped to clear his name and resume his work.
"The past two years have been gruelling and have presented me with a great opportunity for self-reflection," he said.
"I realise now that I was consumed with my work, my company and my drive for success. This caused me to neglect my family, my relationships and to lash out at the people around me.
"My meditation and focus on looking inward has helped me balance my emotions.
"The whole process has been overwhelming, but I am working every day to stay level."
Donna Rotunno, Weinstein’s lead lawyer, said shortly before proceedings begun on Monday that her client had made “bad choices”, but that he was not abusive.
“I don't think anyone is trying to come out into the world, come out in front of press, come out in front of a jury, and say that Harvey Weinstein didn't make mistakes or bad choices,” she said.
“Sexual misconduct is different than sexual assault.”
Ms Rotunno said that they plan to argue that Weinstein had consensual relations with all the women, who sought the Hollywood mogul out to further their careers.
“My certainty [that Harvey Weinstein isn’t guilty of rape] comes from the evidence that I look at and the communications that I see that Harvey has had with women,” she said.
Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, assistant district attorney, attacked Ms Rotunno in court for the interview, accusing her of discussing confidential material on television.
Ms Rotunno hit back, and in a firey exchange likely to set the tone for the trial accused Ms Illuzzi, in turn, of smearing her.
“Ms Iluzzi has the nerve to stand in this court and call my client a predator, and yet says I have done something improper,” Ms Rotunno said.
“It is abominable for her to say I am doing anything other than represent my client. I would not do anything that was not professional.”
Gloria Allred, the famed womens’ rights lawyer representing Ms Haleyi and several other women, also criticised the Weinstein team’s “media blitz”.
“It’s interesting that there’s been a media blitz by the defence in the last 72 hours,” she said, speaking outside court. “The prosecution called it abominable, and I’d agree with that. I think what the defence was trying to do is undermine the witnesses, and to raise doubts for the jury pool. I think that’s extremely unfair and their credibility should only be judged on what happens in court.”
Judge James Burke set out the schedule for jury selection, estimating that the process may take a week to ten days. Opening statements will then follow.
The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.
