Content warning: this article discusses rape and sexual assault.
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, has described the overturning of his 2020 rape conviction by the New York Court of Appeals as “institutional betrayal”.
On Thursday (April 25), the state’s highest court overruled the conviction in a 4-3 verdict, deeming that Weinstein had not received a fair trial. This was based on the grounds that the judge allowed women to testify about allegations that weren’t part of the 2020 case.
“This today is an act of institutional betrayal,” Judd said at an event at the United Nations for workplace safety (via CNN). “Our institutions betray survivors of male sexual violence.”
Judd was one of the first women to accuse the disgraced film producer of sexual misconduct in 2017, giving rise to the MeToo movement. The following year, Judd filed a lawsuit against Weinstein alleging that he defamed her in 1988 after she refused sexual advances.
“I stand shoulder to shoulder with women who have bloody knees,” she continued, “because male sexual violence may knock us down, but we get right back up.”
Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movement, told the UN press conference: “We are devastated for the survivors who are connected to this case, and the survivors who have found solace and catharsis in the original verdict around Harvey Weinstein.
“I am preparing myself for the onslaught of, ‘What does this mean for the MeToo movement?’. And so I want you to hear this: this is not a blow to the movement; it is a clarion call, and we are prepared to answer that call.”
Posting on X, Mira Sorvino, who alleged sexual harassment against Weinstein and said he “stifled” her career, wrote, “Horrified!” and said she was “disgusted” with a justice system that skews towards “predators not victims”.
In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to serve 23 years in a New York state prison, having been convicted of first-degree and third-degree rape. The former film producer was found guilty on February 24, 2020, and charged on March 11.
Despite his conviction being overturned, Weinstein will remain imprisoned because he was recently convicted in Los Angeles of another rape and sentenced to 16 years.
In the 2020 case, Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting a former production assistant on Project Runway at his apartment in 2006. He was also convicted of raping a woman at a hotel in 2013.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.