The Weinstein trial and aftermath...a real life movie.

The accusations and trial of former Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein have been nothing short of a movie script in itself. Born in 1952 in New York City, he later co-founded the Miramax entertainment company with his brother, Bob. It was in October 2017 that he was then dismissed from the company due to a string of sexual allegations from actresses, and the beginning of the global “Me Too” movement.

Interestingly, he was a strong advocate for issues including AIDS, juvenile diabetes and MS, and on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation that targets poverty. Unfortunately, his attempts at goodwill was not reflected in his actions and abuse of power.

The New York Times and New Yorker broke the story in October 2017 that more than a dozen women had formally accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. This subsequently led to the domino effect of other women within the film industry recounting similar experiences, with the “Me Too” movement evolving through social media. From this, Weinstein was made redundant from his production company and suspended from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

These allegations relate to a man that once opened a hotel room in his bath robe to audition an 18 year old actress, and whose Weinstein Company was developing a movie relating to child sex abuse (which actor Channing Tatum halted development of). A similar incident occurred in the late 1990’s when actress Lauren Holly alleged he showered, used the bathroom and asked her for a massage whilst naked in a hotel room. This is amongst a string of allegations including the rape of actress Lysette Anthony in the late 1980’s.

It is further alleged by the New Yorker that Weinstein hired the British-Israeli intelligence organisation Black Cube to prevent further publications about him. It is alleged private investigators used false identities to meet with and gather information from actresses and journalists accusing him of misconduct.

Following criminal investigations from the Police Departments in Los Angeles, New York and London, he was charged by NYPD on May 25, 2018 for counts of rape, criminal sex acts, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct on two women. He did the noble thing and handed himself to police that same day.

Remarkably, he was released on $1 million bail and ordered to wear an ankle bracelet for monitoring, restricting his travel between New York and Connecticut. Following his trial that commenced on January 6th 2020, it took the jury five days to deliberate before he was found guilty to one count of rape and one count of criminal sexual assaults, and was later sentenced to 23 years jail on March 11. In true Weinstein fashion, he will be appealing the decision, in conjunction with an impending trial for similar offences in Los Angeles.

The theatrics were displayed throughout the trial, and continued following the verdict when Harvey complained of chest pains. He provided a 10 minute rambling speech to the Courtroom during his trial, to which he expressed “I have great remorse for all of you” and insisted the relations were consensual. He further compared himself to the individuals to the communist Red Scare in the 1950’s, to which screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was jailed and blacklisted for joining the Communist Party. Yes, Harvey, the comparisons are just truly remarkable.

Harvey was first married to his assistant Eve Chilton in 1987 before divorcing in 2004 and producing three daughters. He later married a young fashion designer and actress Georgina Chapman in 2007 with whom he had two more children, before divorcing him in 2018 following the sexual assault allegations.

The release of the documentary Untouchable is the perfect description of a man that abuses his fame and power for the sexual gratification of young women. Despite the nature of these crimes, it has since created a powerful global movement for women to speak out, whilst Harvey now However, people of this nature are almost always on borrowed time.