Harvey Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?
Seven years after allegations against him first emerged online, Harvey Weinstein is back in court.
When the accusations surfaced in late 2017, the American actress Alyssa Milano tweeted: “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”
This gave birth to what we now know as the #MeToo movement and a flood of women – famous and not – sharing stories of gender-based violence and harassment.
Weinstein, 73, was jailed in 2020 and has been held at New York’s notorious Rikers Island prison complex ever since.
On 15 April, jury selection for his retrial got off to a false start, with none of the 12 potential candidates or six alternatives being deemed suitable. One, an actor, described Weinstein as a “really bad guy” and claimed he could not remain impartial. A woman also bowed out after declaring she had been the victim of sexual assault.
Once jurors are selected, the original charges of rape and sexual assault will be heard again, with opening statements and evidence due to start on 21 April.
Here we look at why there’s a retrial, why Weinstein will likely remain behind bars – and what has happened to #MeToo.
Why is there a retrial?
Weinstein is back in court because his first two convictions were overturned last April and are now being retried.
In 2020, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting ex-production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and raping former actor Jessica Mann in 2013.
Miriam (Mimi) Haley arrives at court in New York in 2020. Pic: AP
Jessica Mann outside court in Manhattan in July 2024. Pic: AP
But in April 2024, New York’s highest court overturned both convictions due to concerns the judge had made improper rulings, including allowing a woman to testify who was not part of the case.
At a preliminary hearing in January this year, the former Hollywood mogul, who has cancer and heart issues, asked for an earlier date on account of his poor health, but that was denied.
Arriving at court for his original trial in New York in February 2020. Pic: Reuters
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When the retrial was decided upon last year, Judge Farber also ruled that a separate charge concerning a third woman should be added to the case.
In September 2024, the unnamed woman filed allegations that Weinstein forced oral sex on her at a hotel in Manhattan in 2006.
Defence lawyers tried to get the charge thrown out, claiming prosecutors were only trying to bolster their case, but Judge Farber decided to incorporate it into the current retrial.
Weinstein denies all the allegations against him and claims any sexual contact was consensual.
Speaking outside court on 15 April, his lawyer Arthur Aidala, said he was “cautiously optimistic that when all the evidence is out, the jury will find that all of his relationships were consensual and therefore reach a verdict of not guilty”.
Why won’t he be released?
Even if the retrial ends in not guilty verdicts on all three counts, Weinstein will remain behind bars at Rikers Island.
This is because he was sentenced for a second time in February 2023 after being convicted of raping an actor in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2013.
At a pre-trial hearing in Los Angeles in July 2021. Pic: Reuters
He was also found guilty of forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object in relation to the same woman, named only in court as Jane Doe 1.
The judge ruled that the 16-year sentence should be served after the 23-year one imposed in New York.
Weinstein’s lawyers are appealing this sentence – but for now, the 16 years behind bars still stand.
Has #MeToo made a difference – and what’s changed?
“MeToo was another way of women testifying about sexual violence and harassment,” Dr Jane Meyrick, associate professor in health psychology at the University of West England (UWE), tells Sky News.
“It exposed the frustration around reporting cases and showed the legal system was not built to give women justice – because they just gave up on it and started saying it online instead.
“That was hugely symbolic – because most societies are built around the silencing of sexual violence and harassment.”
Women on a #MeToo protest march in Los Angeles in November 2017. Pic: Reuters
After #MeToo went viral in 2017, the statute of limitation on sexual assault cases was extended in several US states, giving victims more time to come forward, and there has been some reform of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which were regularly used by Weinstein.
This has resulted in more women speaking out and an increased awareness of gender-based violence, particularly among women, who are less inclined to tolerate any form of harassment, according to Professor Alison Phipps, a sociologist specialising in gender at Newcastle University.
“There’s been an increase in capacity to handle reports in some organisations and institutions – and we’ve seen a lot of high-profile men brought down,” she says.
“But the #MeToo movement has focused on individual men and individual cases – rather than the culture that allows the behaviour to continue.
“It’s been about naming and shaming and ‘getting rid’ of these bad men – by firing them from their jobs or creating new crimes to be able to send more of them to prison – not dealing with the problem at its root.”
Actress Alyssa Milano tweeted about #MeToo when the Weinstein accusations surfaced. Pic: AP
Dr Meyrick, who wrote the book #MeToo For Women And Men: Understanding Power Through Sexual Harassment, gives the example of the workplace and the stereotype of “bumping the perp”, or perpetrator.
“HR departments are still not designed to protect workers – they’re built to suppress and make things go away.” As a result, she says, men are often “quietly moved on” with “no real accountability”.
The same is true in schools, Prof Phipps adds, where she believes concerns around the popularity among young boys of self-proclaimed misogynist and influencer Andrew Tate are being dealt with too “punitively”.
“The message is ‘we don’t talk about Andrew Tate here’ and ‘you shouldn’t be engaging with him’,” she says. “But what we should be doing is asking boys and young men: ‘why do you like him?’, ‘what’s going on here?’ – that deeper conversation is missing,” she says.
The former film producer on the red carpet in Los Angeles in 2015. Pic: AP
Have high-profile celebrity cases helped?
Both experts agree they will have inevitably empowered some women to come forward.
But they stress they are often “nothing like” most other cases of sexual violence or harassment, which makes drawing comparisons “dangerous”.
Referencing the Weinstein case in the US and Gisele Pelicot‘s in France, Dr Meyrick says: “They took multiple people over a very long period of time to reach any conviction – a lot of people’s experiences are nothing like that.”
Prof Phipps adds: “They can create an idea that it’s only ‘real’ rape if it’s committed by a serial sex offender – and not every person who perpetrates sexual harm is a serial offender.”
A woman holds a ‘support Gisele Pelicot’ placard at a march in Paris during her husband’s rape case. Pic: AP
Gisele Pelicot outside court. Pic: Reuters
Part of her research has focused on “lad culture” in the UK and associated sexual violence at universities.
She says: “A lot of that kind of violence happens in social spaces, where there are drugs and alcohol and young people thrown together who don’t know where the boundaries are.
“That doesn’t absolve them of any responsibility – but comparing those ‘lads’ to Harvey Weinstein seems inappropriate.”
Dr Meyrick says most victims she has spoken to through her research “wouldn’t go down the legal route” – and prosecution and conviction rates are still extremely low.
“Most don’t try for justice. They just want to be believed and heard – that’s what’s important and restorative,” she says.
But specialist services that can support victims in that way are underfunded – and not enough is being done to change attitudes through sex education and employment policy, she warns.
“Until we liberate men from the masculine roles they’re offered by society – where objectification of women is normalised as banter – they will remain healthy sons of the patriarchy.
“We need transformative, compassionate education for young men – and young women. That’s where the gap still is.”
Entertainment
Former London’s Burning actor John Alford guilty of sexually assaulting girls aged 14 and 15
Former London’s Burning actor John Alford has been found guilty of sexually assaulting girls aged 14 and 15 at a friend’s home.
Jurors heard the 53-year-old, who rose to fame in BBC show Grange Hill, sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk following a night out at the pub.
St Albans Crown Court was told he bought £250 worth of food, alcohol and cigarettes from a nearby petrol station in the early hours of the morning, including a bottle of vodka which the victims subsequently drank.
Alford then had sexual intercourse with the 14-year-old girl in the garden of the home and later in a downstairs toilet, and inappropriately touched the 15-year-old girl as she lay half asleep on the living room sofa.
He denied four counts of sexual activity with the younger girl and charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to the second teenager at a property in Hertfordshire on April 9 2022.
But, after 13 hours of deliberations, he was found guilty.
As a firefighter in one of his most famous roles. File pic: PA
Alford, of Holloway, north London, who was charged under his real name John Shannon, had previously told the court the allegations were a “set-up”.
He put his head in his hand and shouted “Wrong, I didn’t do this” from the dock as the verdicts were read out in court.
‘I didn’t want sex with an old man’
During the week-long trial, Alford, who cried while giving evidence, told jurors “I never touched either of them girls”, adding there was “no DNA” evidence and that he would stand by his denial “until the day I die”.
However, the 15-year-old girl said: “We were all just like dozing off. That was when John started to touch me.”
Asked how she felt after the assault, the girl said: “Sick. I felt absolutely sick. I wasn’t going to tell anyone.”
In a video of her police interview played to the court, the 14-year-old girl said she had never had sex before the night of the alleged incidents.
“I told him to stop because I didn’t want to have sex with an old man,” she said.
Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died aged 91 – with the worlds of fashion and showbiz paying tribute to a “giant” and a “master of his craft”.
The Italian billionaire died at home surrounded by his family on Thursday.
“With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani,” his fashion house said.
Tributes flood in for Armani – as it happened
“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones.
“Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections, and the many ongoing and future projects.”
A funeral chamber will be set up at Milan’s Armani Teatro for people to pay tribute between 9am and 6pm this weekend.
At the end of his autumn-winter show at Milan Fashion Week in January this year. Pic: Reuters
Armani did not appear at his runway shows in Milan for the first time ever in June as he recovered from an unknown illness.
Only a week ago, when he was interviewed by the Financial Times, he revealed he “oversaw every aspect of the show remotely via video link”.
“My greatest weakness is that I am in control of everything,” he told the newspaper. “Everything you will see has been done under my direction and carries my approval.”
‘A symbol of the best of Italy’
Italy’s President Giorgia Meloni was among the first to pay tribute.
“Giorgio Armani leaves us at 91 years old,” she wrote on X.
“With his elegance, sobriety, and creativity, he was able to bring lustre to Italian fashion and inspire the entire world. An icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy. Thank you for everything.”
At the Royal Academy in London in 2003. Pic: Reuters
Fellow fashion mogul Donatella Versace followed, saying: “The world has lost a giant today. He made history and will be remembered forever.”
American designer Ralph Lauren said he “always had the deepest respect and admiration” for Armani.
Dame Anna Wintour, who this year stepped down as head of American Vogue after 37 years, said the designer “understood power and attitude and elegance as well as anyone ever has in fashion”.
Julia Roberts, who famously wore Armani menswear to the Golden Globe awards in 1990, shared a picture of the pair together on Instagram with the caption: “A true friend. A Legend.”
American model Cindy Crawford called him a “master of his craft” – while the Italian football world also offered its condolences.
Juventus described him as a “timeless icon of elegance and Italian style”.
Inter Milan, who Armani supported, said he was “an icon of our city, a fashion legend who, with his creativity and elegance, knew how to tell the story of Italianness around the world”.
Legendary film director Martin Scorsese also paid tribute, heralding Armani as “more than a clothing designer”.
“He was a real artist, and a great one – people use the term ‘timeless’ quite often, but in his case it happens to be true,” said Scorsese.
Armani contributed to the wardrobe design for the director’s 1995 film Casino, creating suits for Robert De Niro’s character, Ace Rothstein.
The pair came together again for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), where Armani this time suited up Leonardo DiCaprio.
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‘Colossus’ Armani ‘brought gravitas’ to the fashion industry
‘King Giorgio’
Born in the small northern Italian town of Piacenza in July 1934, Armani originally wanted to be a doctor but changed his mind after a part-time job as a window dresser at a Milan store exposed him to fashion for the first time.
As one of the most influential designers of the 20th century, he is often credited with spearheading red carpet fashion and was planning a major event during Milan Fashion Week this month to mark 50 years of his brand.
He put Italian ready-to-wear style on the map in the late 1970s with his signature ‘Armani suit’ before adapting its classic style for women with the launch of the female ‘power suit’ in the 1980s.
He also dressed Hollywood and music stars, including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Lady Gaga.
Read more:
From Gere to Gaga: Armani’s best celebrity looks
With actors Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton in 2003. Pic: Reuters
With Robert De Niro in Milan in 2000. Pic: Reuters
With singer Beyonce in 2003. Pic: Reuters
With David Beckham in Milan in 2009. Pic: Reuters
Armani, or Re Giorgio (King Giorgio) as he was widely known, worked on more than 200 films, most notably earlier in his career on American Gigolo with Richard Gere in 1980.
He was awarded both the French Legion of Honour and Italian Order of Merit for Labour for his contributions to the fashion industry.
With an empire of more than £7.44bn at the time of his death, his work expanded beyond clothes to home furnishings, perfumes, books, flowers, bars, clubs, and restaurants.
He also owned the basketball team EA7 Armani Milan, better known as Olympia Milano.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Armani sparked controversy in 2015 for comments he made about fashion choices among gay men – and previously in 2009 when his company was forced to settle with the Italian tax authorities over its offshore subsidiaries.
Entertainment
‘Ketamine Queen’ Jasveen Sangha pleads guilty to supplying fatal dose that killed Friends star Matthew Perry
A woman known as the “Ketamine Queen” has officially pleaded guilty to selling Friends star Matthew Perry the drug that killed him.
Jasveen Sangha initially denied the charges but agreed to change her plea in a signed statement in August, just a few weeks before she had been due to stand trial.
The 42-year-old , a dual citizen of the US and the UK, has now appeared in a federal court in Los Angeles to plead guilty to five charges, including supplying the ketamine that led to Perry‘s death.
She faces up to 65 years in prison after admitting one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Prosecutors agreed to drop three other counts related to the distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of methamphetamine that was unrelated to the Perry case.
In a brief statement when the plea deal was announced, her lawyer Mark Geragos said she was “taking responsibility for her actions”.
The judge is not bound to follow any terms of the plea agreement, but prosecutors have said they will ask for less than the maximum possible sentence.
Perry died aged 54 in October 2023. He had struggled with addiction for years, but released a memoir a year before his death during a period of being clean.
He had been using ketamine through his regular doctor as a legal, but off-label, treatment for depression, but in the weeks before his death had also started to seek more of the drug illegally.
Perry bought large amounts of ketamine from Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 (£4,458) in cash four days before his death, prosecutors said.
Read more:
The Hollywood drugs network exposed by Perry’s death
Obituary: The one who made everyone laugh
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What Perry’s death says about Hollywood
Sangha, described by prosecutors as the “Ketamine Queen of North Hollywood”, is now the fifth and final person to plead guilty to charges connected to the supply of drugs to the Friends star.
The actor’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, an acquaintance Erik Fleming, and a physician, Mark Chavez, all agreed to plead guilty when the charges were announced in August 2024.
Another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, initially pleaded not guilty and had been due to face trial alongside Sangha, but changed his plea in July.
Sangha and Plasencia had been the primary targets of the investigation.
The three other defendants: Chavez, Iwamasa and Fleming pleaded guilty in exchange for their co-operation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia.
Perry had bought ketamine from Sangha after he was led to her by Fleming, prosecutors said.
On the day of Perry’s death, Sangha told Fleming they should delete all the messages they had sent each other, according to Sangha’s indictment.
Sangha is due to be sentenced on 10 December.
The other four defendants are also still awaiting sentencing.
Perry was one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing in Friends – which ran on NBC between 1994 and 2004.
He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for all 10 seasons of the show.
The Friends stars were among around 20 mourners who attended his funeral in November 2023, according to TMZ.
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