For years, he was one of Hollywood’s most visionary and powerful independent producers, feared, revered and even called “god” on one occasion by actress Meryl Streep.
When he fell from grace in 2017 over rape allegations that opened the floodgates on widespread sexual abuse in Hollywood and beyond, the shockwaves were felt around the world.
The MeToo movement had just emerged and, with it, thousands of women decided to speak out, revealing frequent practices, not only in the world of cinema, but also at work, on the streets and in transport.
Actresses such as Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek have accused him of sexual harassment or assault. Asia Argento, Rose McGowan and Paz de la Huerta, of rape. Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd guarantee that he ended their careers because they did not give in to his harassment.
Harvey Weinstein, who never asked for forgiveness or showed regret, felt like he was the victim of a witch hunt by the MeToo movement, which he compared to the persecution of communists promoted by US Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Cold War.
“I was the first example and now there are thousands of men being accused. I’m worried for this country,” he said.
His conviction by a Manhattan court to 23 years in prison, which sealed the fall from grace of the once all-powerful producer, was overturned on Thursday by an appeals court due to formal problems, and ordered a new trial.
“With today’s decision, this court continues to frustrate the constant advances that survivors of sexual violence have fought for in our criminal justice system”, lamented judge Madeline Singas, who voted against the decision to annul the conviction, approved by 4 votes to 3.
Monster
Victim: former actress Jessica Mann
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Many women said that the irascible and impatient Weinstein arranged meetings in hotel rooms, where he received them in a bathrobe and invited them to give or receive massages and watch him masturbate.
The burly former producer was criminally tried only on the two non-statutory charges: forced oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, and the rape of former actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
In December 2022, another California court found him guilty of raping a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel. Two months later, a judge sentenced him to 16 years in prison.
“For years he was my monster,” wrote Mexican actress Salma Hayek, recounting what she experienced during the filming of “Frida” in 2002. She always said no to his advances, but Weinstein responded with “Machiavellian anger” and threatened to kill her. there.
From the ashes of the empire he built, movements such as MeToo and Time’s Up were born, which encouraged tens of thousands of women from all over the world to report on social media powerful men who had abused or harassed them, and provoked a cultural change in attitude: tolerance zero for this type of conduct.
The scandal
It was a major investigation into inappropriate sexual behavior published by The New York Times on October 5, 2017 – which inspired the film “She Said” – and another report by The New Yorker magazine that uncovered the sewer of the scandal that ended her career, your marriage and your reputation.
The former producer was expelled from the US Film Academy and his own company, The Weinstein Company (TWC).
In November 2017, a month after the scandal came to light, Weinstein checked himself into a rehabilitation center to treat his sex addiction.
His second wife, British fashion designer Georgina Chapman, with whom he had two of his five children, filed for divorce.
The king of the Oscars
The Oscars for “The Passion of Shakespeare” at the 1999 ceremony
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Born in Queens on March 19, 1952, the son of a diamond cutter, Weinstein studied at the University at Buffalo and initially produced rock shows with his brother Bob.
The two co-founded their first film studio, Miramax, in 1979. Their successes included Steven Soderbergh’s “Sex, Lies and Videotape” (1989) and “The Passion of Shakespeare” (1998), which won seven statuettes, including Best Film.
Miramax also produced Quentin Tarantino’s first hits, “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and “The English Patient” (1997, nine Oscars).
The studio was sold to Disney in 1993 and the brothers left the company in 2005 to found the Weinstein Company.
Over the years, Weinstein’s films have received more than 300 nominations and 81 statuettes.
Weinstein reached a $25 million settlement with more than 30 actresses and former employees who sued him. The bill will be paid by his former company and insurance companies.
