Harvey Weinstein convicted of rape in Los Angeles trial

Published

3 years ago

December 20, 2022

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Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape in a trial in California.

The 70-year-old predator had been on trial in Los Angeles, charged with raping and sexually assaulting two women and committing sexual battery against two others.

A jury has found him guilty of raping one woman, but not guilty of sexual battery by restraint of another woman.

The jury was unable to reach verdicts on several counts, including charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the allegations of another woman, with a mistrial declared on those counts.

In addition to being found guilty of rape, Weinstein was found guilty of forced oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving the same woman, who said he appeared uninvited at her hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013.

Weinstein appeared to put his face in his hands when the initial guilty counts were read, then looked forward as the rest of the verdict was read.

He faces up to 24 years in prison when he is sentenced.

“Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs,” Ms Siebel Newsom said in a statement.

“Throughout the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors. The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do.”

Film producer already serving 23-year sentence

The Oscar-winning film producer is already serving a 23-year jail sentence for rape and sexual assault after being convicted in a landmark court case in New York in 2020, which was seen as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement.

However, earlier this year he was granted permission to appeal.

As such, the month-long LA trial, widely viewed as symbolic, assumed greater significance.

In their closing argument, prosecutors had urged jurors to complete Weinstein’s fall from grace, arguing it was time for his “reign of terror to end”.

In turn, his lawyer had argued the four women were untrustworthy.

Alan Jackson argued the stories of two women who Weinstein was alleged to have sexually assaulted on consecutive days in 2013 “simply never happened”.

He also said Weinstein’s alleged rape and assault of the other two women in 2005 and 2010 were “100% consensual” encounters that the women engaged in for career advancement.

The birth of the #MeToo movement

Once one of Hollywood’s most influential figures, whose films included Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Gangs Of New York, Weinstein had 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, he 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.

He admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but consistently denied all the sexual allegations made against him.

It was a moment that gave birth to the #MeToo movement as women came forward to detail incidents involving powerful figures in the entertainment industry and beyond.

The Pulitzer-prize-winning expose of Weinstein by New York Times reporters has now been turned into a film, She Said, starring Carey Mulligan.

Entertainment

Man arrested for alleged sexual assault ‘on set of EastEnders’

Published

12 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Man arrested for alleged sexual assault 'on set of EastEnders'

A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and sexual assault – which reportedly took place on the set of EastEnders.

The alleged incident happened on the set of the BBC soap at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, according to The Sun newspaper.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed a man in his 50s was arrested after the report in Eldon Avenue, Borehamwood, on 7 May.

The man is accused of sexual assault and common assault in relation to two victims, the force said.

The suspect is on bail while inquiries continue, police added.

EastEnders said in a statement: “While we would never comment on individuals, EastEnders has on-site security and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the safety and welfare of everyone who works on the show.”

Entertainment

BST Hyde Park’s final day cancelled as Jeff Lynne’s ELO pulls out of headline slot

Published

1 day ago

July 13, 2025

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BST Hyde Park's final day cancelled as Jeff Lynne's ELO pulls out of headline slot

BST Hyde Park festival has cancelled its final night after Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra pulled out of the headline slot.

Lynne, 77, was due to play alongside his band on Sunday but has been forced to withdraw from the event following a “systemic infection”.

The London show was supposed to be a “final goodbye” from ELO following their farewell US tour.

Organisers said on Saturday that Lynne was “heartbroken” at being unable to perform.

A statement read: “Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.

“The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today – and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time.”

They later confirmed the whole of Sunday’s event would be cancelled.

“Ticket holders will be refunded and contacted directly by their ticket agent with further details,” another statement said.

Stevie Wonder played the festival on Saturday – now its final event of 2025.

US rock band The Doobie Brothers and blues rock singer Steve Winwood were among those who had been due to perform to before ELO’s headline performance.

The cancellation comes after the band, best known for their hit Mr Blue Sky, pulled out of a performance due to take place at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena on Thursday.

ELO was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan.

They first split in 1986, before frontman Lynne resurrected the band in 2014.

Entertainment

Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US citizenship

Published

1 day ago

July 12, 2025

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Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship

Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”

He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.

O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.

“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.

“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.

She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.

O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.

This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.

But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.

Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.

“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.

“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”