Harvey Weinstein is back in court on rape and sexual assault charges – everything you need to know about the trial
Harvey Weinstein is facing four rape charges and seven other counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles.
Opening statements in the case are expected to begin today.
The charges are the latest in a long line of allegations against the disgraced movie mogul – previously considered Hollywood royalty, and one of the most award-winning producers in history.
The 70-year-old is already serving 23 years in prison in California for rape and sexual assault after being convicted in New York in 2020.
Here are all the details on his latest court case.
What has Weinstein been accused of?
Weinstein stands accused of 11 counts of rape and sexual assault against five women in LA and Beverley Hills between 2004 and 2013.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
If convicted on all 11 counts, Weinstein could be sentenced to up to 140 years in prison.
Who are Weinstein’s accusers?
Documentary filmmaker and actress Jennifer Siebel Newsom is one of the five women accusing Weinstein.
She appeared in small roles in dozens of films and television shows between 2002 and 2011, and has recently directed gender-focused documentaries including The Great American Lie and Fair Play. She is married to California governor Gavin Newsom.
She initially wrote about her experience with Weinstein in a 2017 essay in the Huffington Post, but revealed few details at the time.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Ms Newsom’s lawyer, Elizabeth Fegan, said in a statement: “Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap.
“She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women.”
The four other women will remain anonymous and give evidence as Jane Doe.
Most of the alleged incidents, like Mrs Newsom’s, happened under the guise of business meetings at luxury hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, which Weinstein used as his California headquarters during awards season and throughout the year.
Four of the alleged attacks are said to have occurred during Oscars week 2013, where Weinstein’s hit movies Silver Linings Playbook and Django Unchained took home numerous statuettes.
Weinstein was pictured with a walking frame at his previous trial
Who are the witnesses?
The initial witness list had over 270 names on, although the final list is expected to have fewer than half that number. The list has not been made public.
One witness, Barbara Schneeweiss, a producer on Project Runway and other television shows, was present in court and was told by a judge she was on call to come in at any time.
The jurors were also given a long list of names of witnesses in the coming trial, including those of the accusers, to determine whether they have any connection to them.
Read more:
Harvey Weinstein: The fall of the king of Hollywood
The prosecution will also be allowed to introduce as evidence parts of Weinstein’s New York conviction for rape and sexual assault.
One potential witness against Weinstein is Hollywood actor and director Mel Gibson after a judge ruled he can testify.
Prosecutors say Gibson, who won an Oscar for directing Braveheart, was a friend of one of the accusers.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench ruled Gibson could testify about what the friend told him about Weinstein, though the judge said she could change her mind depending on the friend’s testimony.
Will there be a jury?
It is a jury trial, and 12 jurors – nine men and three women – have been selected.
They appear to largely be aged between 40 and 70. Some appear to be older than that, and one man appears to be in his early to mid-20s.
Ten alternate jurors will also attend the full length of the trial, ready to step in and replace any of the jury of 12, should anyone become unable to serve.
They were chosen from a pool of 225 potential jurors, all of whom filled out a lengthy questionnaire.
It is understood to have contained questions including how much media coverage of Weinstein they had seen, and whether they had formed opinions from it.
There was also a question about a California law that says the testimony alone of a sexual assault victim can be sufficient evidence to convict if a juror believes them.
Weinstein at his 2020 trial in New York
What happened during the 2020 New York trial?
Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in California, after being extradited there following his conviction in March 2020 for assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006 and third-degree rape of Jessica Mann in 2013.
He is currently appealing these convictions.
During a landmark trial, more than 100 women, including famous actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman, Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct stretching back decades – fuelling the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault dating back to the 1990s.
Previous to his extradition to California, he was serving his sentence at Wende Correctional Facility in Buffalo, New York – a maximum security prison.
Weinstein in his heyday, pictured on a red carpet in 2015
How did Weinstein fall from grace?
Harvey Weinstein was once the king of Hollywood, a man with the power to make and break careers in the movies.
But in October 2017, in reports by the New York Times and the New Yorker, the Oscar-winning producer was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women. He was also accused of reaching settlements to keep the stories quiet.
In the months that followed, dozens more women came forward to allege incidents of rape, sexual assault and harassment by Weinstein dating back decades.
Police investigations into the allegations stretched from Los Angeles to New York and London.
Weinstein admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but consistently denied all the sexual allegations made against him.
In September 2020, Weinstein was stripped of his CBE following his conviction.
Numerous other distinctions bestowed on Weinstein during his career – including France’s prestigious Legion of Honour – have been revoked since allegations against him first surfaced.
The multi-Oscar winner, who was responsible for blockbusters including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient, Good Will Hunting, Gangs Of New York and Shakespeare In Love, was expelled from the Academy in 2017.
They had previously nominated his work for 341 awards, earning him 81 statuettes over the last 26 years.
Saoirse Ronan has become one of the Academy Awards’ anomalies after being nominated four times without taking home a statuette.
The American-born Irish star received her first Oscars nod at the age of just 13, when she featured in the best supporting actress category for her role in Atonement.
Since then, despite being shortlisted three times for best actress for Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women, she has never won.
Now, the 30-year-old is set to compete in both the lead and supporting actress categories at the 2025 awards for her new films The Outrun and Steve McQueen’s Blitz.
Saoirse Ronan stars in The Outrun. Pic: StudioCanal UK
If she secures one or both nominations, she would become the youngest actor to receive five, or six, nods.
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun, which is inspired by the life of writer Amy Liptrot, follows a Scottish woman struggling with alcoholism while living in fast-paced London.
In a bid to maintain her sobriety, she returns home to Orkney and finds herself in the process.
“Nora really wanted us to have our input in terms of who these characters were and situations that we would find them in”, Ronan told Sky News.
“We had a script that was written and the structure of it was there, but we were sort of able to fill in the gaps a little bit.”
The Outrun. Pic: StudioCanal UK
The Scottish drama marks the first time Ronan has worked as a producer on a project and she says she took a lot from the experience.
She said: “There is a lot going on behind the scenes that actors are protected from, and sometimes I think it would be valuable for an actor to know the drama that exists when they’re not around.
“I think it might make people behave a little bit better and to know that it is sort of like a domino effect when there’s one thing that’s out of place, it really will affect everything else by you not getting on to a call at a certain time.”
The Outrun. Pic: StudioCanal UK
She said it gave her a new appreciation for the craft.
“It’s very difficult to get an independent movie made and to try and source the money needed to just even pay people is difficult sometimes.
“So, yes, it’s just having an awareness of and the graft involved and that has definitely made me appreciate the movies that I’m on so much more where I am just an actor and I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff at all.”
The film also stars The Lazarus Project’s Paapa Essiedu as her boyfriend Daynin.
Battling with the person she has become, her character Rona returns to the Orkney Islands to try to reconnect with nature.
Read more entertainment and arts news:
The King leads tributes to Dame Maggie Smith
Creator of controversial Netflix drama hits back at family criticism
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Oscar nominee said sea swimming at a remote location was therapeutic for the cast and crew.
“We finished [shooting] on Papa Westray, where we had to have a micro crew. There’s 90 inhabitants on the whole island.
“We stayed in people’s homes because there’s no hotels or anything like that. We ate together every night. We walked to work like it was a very stripped back experience in terms of filmmaking.
“And I think that was sort of felt like art imitating life a little bit after all the chaos of the beginning of the shoot. To have that at the end was wonderful.”
The Outrun is in cinemas now.
Pop star Lana Del Rey has married her alligator tour guide partner in Louisiana, according to reports.
The singer, 39, and Jeremy Dufrene, 49, are said to have obtained a marriage licence in Lafourche parish on Monday and had their wedding three days later.
Footage obtained by the Daily Mail appears to show Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Woodridge Grant, wearing a white dress where Mr Dufrene works as a tour guide in Des Allemandes, south of New Orleans.
Del Rey has not commented on the reported wedding.
Read more from Sky News
Maggie Smith dies aged 89
Lady Gaga can’t let go of Joker character
Comedian receiving end of life cancer care
She met Mr Dufrene in 2019, posting pictures of her on one of his tours with the caption: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x.”
Arthur’s Air Boat Tours gives guided tours through the local swamps, where its website says visitors are likely to see “300 species of birds” and “alligators up close and personal”.
Mr Dufrene’s profile page says he previously worked seven days a week at a chemical plant – when he would “shrimp on vacation days”.
“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it adds.
“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The couple were pictured together at Reading and Leeds festival this summer where Del Rey headlined.
She previously dated Scottish singer Barrie-James O’Neill for three years and was last linked to a police officer called Sean Larkin.
Entertainment
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit
Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with further sexual assault allegations after a woman filed a lawsuit in New York.
In the fresh civil case, the woman – identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe – claims she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul’s homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters.
It follows a series of similar legal cases brought by women against Combs, 54, who was arrested at a hotel in New York last week on sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.
The latest lawsuit was filed on Friday against Combs, his companies and several associates, and seeks undisclosed damages for physical injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and other harm.
The woman claims she met Combs abroad in 2020 and that the assaults and harassment continued through to July this year.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Rappers dodge Diddy question
She says she was often coerced and harassed into travelling to Combs’ homes in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and other cities, and during every visit the rapper would make her “perform a show” for him.
In one encounter alleged to have taken place in July 2022, the woman claims she blacked out after being forced to take drugs that included ketamine.
She later allegedly took a pregnancy test and told Combs it was positive. She said an associate of the music producer repeatedly demanded her to get an abortion. The lawsuit states she had a miscarriage.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Diddy ‘didn’t do these things’ – lawyer
The woman, who is being represented by lawyers Marie Napoli and Joseph Ciaccio, also alleges Combs and his associates tracked her location and monitored her conversations.
She claims Combs discouraged her from working and gave her an “allowance” that he used to control her.
Read more:
What is Sean Combs accused of?
Former porn actress accuses rap mogul of sex assault
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” Ms Napoli said in a statement.
Combs has been facing civil allegations including rape, sexual assault, and forced drugging since November 2023.
He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but remains jailed, having been denied bail. His attorney said he is innocent and will fight to clear his name.
A lawyer for Combs did not respond to the allegations made in Friday’s lawsuit when contacted by the Associated Press news agency.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports6 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports11 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway