Hollywood actress Ashley Judd, others express dismay at producer Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape case retrial

Following the decision of the New York appeals court to overturn Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction and order a new trial, reactions have poured in, many expressing dismay at the turn of events.

The court on Thursday argued that the previous ruling had committed serious errors in recognizing invalid testimonies in the landmark trial that drove the#MeToo movement.

The decision was based on "erroneous" occurrences during the initial process, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren't part of the case.

'Unfair to survivors'

Charlotte Proudman, a barrister and equal rights activist, posted on X that "every survivor who relived their trauma and gave evidence in court, will probably have to do it ALL over again. When victims say the 'justice system' re-traumatizes them, this is what they mean."

Key figures in the #MeToo movement have also spoken out, including Ashley Judd, the first actress to come forward with allegations against the movie producer.

"That is unfair to survivors," Judd said to The New York Times. "We still live in our truth. And we know what happened."

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Katherine Kendall, another of Weinstein's accusers to speak out following the decision, told the Times that Thursday's development was "a terrible reminder that victims of sexual assault just don't get justice. I'm completely let down by the justice system right now," before adding, "I'm sort of flabbergasted."

DW spoke with Jayson Campadonia, news director at NBC News Radio & iHeart Media, who said the Weinstein court ruling is "sending shock waves" through Hollywood. 

"A polarizing figure like Weinstein — a lot of actors and actresses built their celebrity on the #MeToo movement. That'll be interesting to see. Reese Witherspoon, who was one of the major proponents of the #MeToo movement, whether she will come out and say something. It'll be interesting to see who comes out and says "what an egregious error or whatever" in the coming days."

'Tremendous victory,' says Weinstein lawyer

Weinstein's lawyer said Thursday that he always believed the law was incorrectly applied in the Hollywood producer's trial, and hailed the overturning of the conviction as a great day for the US justice system.

"From the bottom of our hearts, from our collective hundreds of years of experience, we knew that Harvey Weinstein did not get a fair trial," Arthur Aidala, head of Weinstein's legal team, told reporters. "We all worked very hard and this is a tremendous victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York." 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose predecessor Cyrus Vance brought the case, will now have to decide how to proceed.

"We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault," Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for Bragg, said in an email, according to the Reuters news agency.