Harvey Weinstein verdict: #MeToo women Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd react to guilty finding

Hollywood celebrities and Harvey Weinstein’s victims react with a mixture of relief and glee to the fallen film mogul’s guilty verdict.

Harvey Weinstein, main, faces a lengthy jail sentence after his guilty verdict. Actresses Rose McGowan, top right, and Ashley Judd, bottom right, have welcomed the jury’s decision.

Hollywood celebrities and Harvey Weinstein’s victims reacted with a mixture of relief and glee to the fallen film mogul’s guilty verdict.

“Today is a powerful day & a huge step forward in our collective healing,” tweeted actress Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of raping her.

“Im proud of the brave women who testified, they have taken out a monster on earth. Thank you to the prosecutor & jury who said not one more. Thank you to the public for examining things more deeply. I can finally exhale.’’

I'm proud of the brave women who testified, they have taken out a monster on earth. Thank you to the prosecutor & jury who said not one more. Thank you to the public for examining things more deeply. I can finally exhale

— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) February 24, 2020

She went on to say: “For once he won’t be sitting comfortably. For once he will know what it’s like to have power wrapped around his neck. Today is not a referendum on #MeToo. This is taking out the trash.’’

pic.twitter.com/RHpUY8JBdJ

— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) February 24, 2020

The actress Ashley Judd, one of the first women in October 2017 to accuse Weinstein of sexual abuse, tweeted: “For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you.”

Before an intense - joyful - grueling -super inspiring week of campaigning in 4 states, we hit the trails again to ground, air out, and freshen up. I k ow these times in the mountains feed my soul and serve me well.… https://t.co/LfScLikffV

— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) February 24, 2020

“Harvey Weinstein will now forever be known as a convicted serial predator,” said the Silence Breakers, a group of 23 women who have accused him of sexual abuse.

“He will rot in jail as he deserves,” said the actress Mira Sorvino, who has said that she was sexually harassed and blacklisted by Weinstein.

“Harvey Weinstein has haunted many of our lives, even our nightmares, long after he initially did what he did to each one of us,” Sorvino said shortly after Monday’s verdict. “We’ve finally taken that power back, we have exposed his evil,” she said, her voice breaking.

Reese Witherspoon wrote: “Today’s historic win in the Weinstein trial is a testament to the bravery and resilience of the #SilenceBreakers, and a victory for survivors everywhere. This is just the beginning.”

Today’s historic win in the Weinstein trial is a testament to the bravery and resilience of the #SilenceBreakers, and a victory for survivors everywhere. This is just the beginning. Join @TIMESUPNOW’s fight for safety, equity & justice in every workplace: https://t.co/WotjoNnlA3

— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) February 24, 2020

Actress Rosanna Arquette said: “Moving forward we must actively pursue strengthening laws and closing loopholes in our criminal systems, so that more rape cases will be prosecuted and rapists will be held accountable for their crimes. But today, let’s focus on the progress that has been made with the first guilty verdict in the MeToo era.”

Weinstein’s downfall, and the #MeToo movement created in its wake, is threatening to topple many powerul men around the world. More than 30 people have accused Kevin Spacey, winner of two Oscars and the former artistic director of The Old Vic theatre, of conduct ranging from inappropriate behaviour to sexual assault, but a criminal prosecution was dropped as were two private lawsuits.

In Britain, Sir Michael Fallon quit his role as defence secretary in 2017 and apologised for putting his hand on the journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer’s knee during the Conservative Party conference in 2002.

Other famous people who have lost work or positions of power because of #MeToo accusations from men and women include the film directors Luc Besson and Bryan Singer, the US national gymnastics director Larry Nassar, the comedians David Blaine and Louis CK, the photographer Mario Testino, conductor James Levine and the celebrity chef Mario Batali.

Weinstein plummeted from grace in October 2017 when an initial account of his sexual misconduct towards Judd and several other women set off an avalanche of similar allegations from more than 80 women including Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek.

His British wife, the fashion designer Georgina Chapman, announced within days that she was divorcing him. He sought sanctuary and rehabilitation for alleged sex addiction at an exclusive Arizona clinic and plotted a return to the top of the entertainment business.

Then on May 25, 2018 he turned himself in to police in New York and was arrested on sexual misconduct charges.

It was only today, however, that he was finally held accountable in court for his crimes. The jury of seven men and five women sat through weeks of harrowing testimony from six women who claimed that Weinstein had attacked them.

They included Miriam Haley, a production assistant, who said that he forced oral sex on her at his Manhattan flat in 2006, and Jessica Mann, an actress who said he raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.

Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court, on February 13.

Reece Witherspoon. Picture: Getty

Annabella Sciorra, an actress best known for her work in The Sopranos, told the court that she was raped by Weinstein at her home almost 30 years ago. “My testimony was painful but necessary,” Ms Sciorra said. “I spoke for myself and with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart.”

The three other women were called to give evidence to try to establish a pattern of sexually abusive behaviour.

Ultimately Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting Ms Haley and of raping Ms Mann but acquitted on the predatory sexual assault charges, suggesting that at least one juror did not believe Ms Sciorra.

Weinstein sat motionless and displayed little emotion as the verdict was read. “But, I’m innocent,” he told his lawyers three times. He faces a possible sentence of between five and 29 years, 25 of them for the sexual assault.

The women who testified had together “changed the course of history in the fight against sexual violence”, said Cyrus Vance Jr, the district attorney of New York county, who brought the criminal case against Weinstein.

THE TIMES