Hollywood responds to reversal of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction: “More than disappointed”

Hollywood responds to reversal of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction: “More than disappointed” | Celebrities

celebritiesThe well-known women who sued Harvey Weinstein (72) several years ago denounce the decision of the judge in New York to overturn his conviction for rape. They already responded in a joint response – in which they called the verdict “very unjust” and “a step back” – but many victims are still taking the time to express their own dissatisfaction.

Actress Ashley Judd is “appalled” by the news, she said in conversation with ‘The New York Times’. Judd was the first of dozens of women to publicly come forward with accusations against Weinstein. She finds the court’s decision “unfair to the victims” of Weinstein. “We still live in our truth. And we know what happened,” Judd said.

Actress Katherine Kendall also makes herself heard in ‘The New York Times’. She feels “let down” by the legal system. “I’m a little stunned,” Kendall said. Prosecutor Louise Gobold tells ‘Variety’ that it sometimes seems “as if the legal system operates in a parallel universe. Everyone knows that Harvey is a sexual predator and that he has harmed countless women. And yet today his conviction in New York was overturned,” she says.

“We are not victims”

Rose McGowan, who accused Weinstein of raping her, responds in a video: “No matter what they undo, they cannot take away who we are and what we know, what we have been through and what we can achieve in this life. We are not victims. We are people who have been wounded by evil.” Other well-known women who have accused Weinstein of sexually inappropriate behavior include Kate Beckinsale, Paris Hilton, Cara Delevingne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett.

Four years ago, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York. The highest court of appeal in the US now says that the judge made a serious error in that case. The trial would not have been fair because prosecutors were allowed to have several women testify accusing Weinstein of misconduct for which he was not prosecuted at the time. His prosecution in that case is seen as a milestone for the MeToo movement.

It is still unknown what the court’s new ruling means for Weinstein. He is currently serving his sentence at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York. He was later also sentenced to sixteen years in prison in a rape case in California. He may be transferred to a prison there. Or prosecutors in New York could also decide that the case should be redone.