On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the New York Court of Appeals overturned former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction. It ruled that witness testimony should not have been heard in this case. A retrial is already being planned by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Many were outraged over this reversal. This includes many prominent Hollywood actresses, including Mariska Hargitay. Several of Weinstein’s victims also spoke out, including Ashley Judd.
Judd was one of the first stars to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault. “That is unfair to survivors,” she told The New York Times. “We still live in our truth. And we know what happened.”
Hargitay took to Instagram to lament the court’s decision. She did not have history with Weinstein but is a rape survivor herself. “The reversal of Harvey Weinstein’s conviction comes as a painful and infuriating affront to survivors and advocates everywhere,” she wrote. “To every survivor in this case and every survivor who has to bear witness to this incorrigible marriage of justice, my heart is with you today, tomorrow, and forever.”
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Ambra Battilana Gutierrez accused Weinstein of fondling her breasts and putting his hand up her skirt during a work meeting in 2015. “If the D.A. had taken my case seriously in 2015, we wouldn’t be here,” she stated to The New York Times. “This is an ongoing failure of the justice system — and the courts — to take survivors seriously and to protect our interests.”
Katherine Kendall accused Weinstein of chasing her around his New York apartment, naked, during what she thought was a work meeting. She believes the court's decision is a “terrible reminder that victims of sexual assault just don’t get justice.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
