Weinstein, 73, appeared stunned in court as the split decision was read out. He had opted not to testify during the six-week trial. The once-powerful Hollywood producer has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Juror raises alarm over deliberation pressure
The trial took a dramatic turn when the jury’s foreperson raised concerns about what he described as a troubling “situation” during deliberations. On Wednesday, while the jury was gathered to hear a legal clarification, the foreperson asked to speak privately with Judge Curtis Farber.
“He said words to the effect of ‘I can’t go back in there with the other jurors,’” Judge Farber told the court. The foreperson was then placed in a separate room, where he wrote a note: “I need to talk to you about a situation.”
Behind closed doors, he told the judge, prosecutors, and Weinstein’s legal team that at least one juror had made a threatening remark: “I’ll meet you outside one day.” According to Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala, the foreperson also reported hearing, “You don’t know me,” and said he was concerned for his safety.
“I don’t think the court is protecting this juror. Period,” said Aidala, who immediately called for a mistrial.However, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo downplayed the fear factor, stating the juror was “stubborn” but not visibly afraid. “He said he’d made up his mind, he didn’t want to change it, and people were pressuring him to change it. That’s what jury deliberations involve,” Colangelo told the court.
Charges and outcomes
Weinstein was found guilty of forcibly subjecting a woman to a criminal sexual act in 2006. He was acquitted of another similar charge from that same year. The jury remained deadlocked over whether he raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a New York hotel room in 2013.
Under New York law, third-degree rape—unlike the first-degree criminal sexual act for which he was convicted—carries a lesser penalty. Nevertheless, with the conviction, Weinstein faces up to 29 years in prison. He is already serving a 16-year sentence in California following a 2022 rape conviction, which he is appealing.
Accusers and testimony
The trial focused on testimony from three women: Jessica Mann, Mimi Haley, and Kaja Sokola. All three described what they said were assaults committed by Weinstein while they were young and hoping to work in entertainment. Their often graphic testimonies were central to the prosecution’s case.
Blumberg told the court, “Members of the jury, he raped three women. They all said, ‘no.’”
Weinstein’s defence team argued otherwise. Aidala described Weinstein’s encounters with the women as part of a consensual, if transactional, dynamic. “They are lying about what happened. Not about everything, but about a small slice – just enough to turn their regret, their buyers’ remorse, into criminality,” Aidala told jurors.
At times, his arguments veered into theatrical territory. Aidala referenced Pulp Fiction, joked about his grandmother’s Italian gravy, and re-enacted parts of witness testimonies. He referred to Weinstein as the “poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement.”
“This was not a ‘courting game,’ as Mr Aidala wants you to believe,” prosecutor Blumberg countered. “This was never about ‘fooling around.’ It was about rape.”
Friction inside the jury room
This retrial followed a ruling by New York’s highest court which overturned Weinstein’s 2020 conviction. That earlier verdict had been seen as a defining moment for the #MeToo movement, which gained traction after more than 100 women accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct in 2017.
From the beginning, tensions among the jurors threatened to disrupt the process. One juror asked to be excused, claiming another was being treated unfairly. Despite two mistrial requests, the jury was told to continue.
They spent much of their final days re-hearing Mann’s emails, medical records, and her detailed testimony. Some jurors took new notes. Others sat impassively as stenographers read aloud passages they had already heard before.
Weinstein remains detained at New York’s Rikers Island jail. Although he faces a possible sentence of up to 29 years in this case, his existing sentence from California means he is already likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles rape conviction appeal remains pending. Prosecutors in New York have not yet said whether they will retry the unresolved third charge from this case.
The split verdict, the juror tensions, and the closed-door discussions have once again thrust the Weinstein case into the public eye—not just for its significance to the #MeToo movement, but for what it reveals about how justice, pressure, and power can collide in a courtroom.
