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| Weinstein Trial Begins, 2 Years After Accusations Led to #MeToo | Weinstein Trial Begins, 2 Years After Accusations Led to #MeToo |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| In Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein was a man of seemingly infinite power, not only making Oscar-winning films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” but also helping make careers. | |
| But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to face charges that even as he ruled over the movie business in New York and Los Angeles, he was a sexual predator, a serial abuser who repeatedly used his influence and imposing physicality to overpower women in his orbit. | But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to face charges that even as he ruled over the movie business in New York and Los Angeles, he was a sexual predator, a serial abuser who repeatedly used his influence and imposing physicality to overpower women in his orbit. |
| “The evidence will be clear that the man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, but a rapist,” a prosecutor, Meghan Hast, said in her opening statement, gesturing to Mr. Weinstein. | “The evidence will be clear that the man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, but a rapist,” a prosecutor, Meghan Hast, said in her opening statement, gesturing to Mr. Weinstein. |
| The start of the trial, one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings in recent memory, has attracted news media from around the globe. Early Wednesday, dozens of reporters from as far away as Germany and South America lined up in front of the courthouse in Manhattan. | The start of the trial, one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings in recent memory, has attracted news media from around the globe. Early Wednesday, dozens of reporters from as far away as Germany and South America lined up in front of the courthouse in Manhattan. |
| It also capped a year and a half of legal wrangling by Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, who have sought for months to contain, delay and derail the process with attempts to limit witnesses, remove the judge from the case and relocate the trial from what they have described as the “carnival-like atmosphere” of Manhattan. | It also capped a year and a half of legal wrangling by Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, who have sought for months to contain, delay and derail the process with attempts to limit witnesses, remove the judge from the case and relocate the trial from what they have described as the “carnival-like atmosphere” of Manhattan. |
| Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces charges that he raped one aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forced oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006. | Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces charges that he raped one aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forced oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006. |
| Mr. Weinstein, who recently had back surgery, made his way up the courthouse steps just before 9:15 a.m., his weight sometimes supported by two men as he struggled to stay upright. It was the first time he had entered the courthouse without his tennis-ball-studded walker in weeks. Just steps from the door, he stumbled between the men, as though he were about to fall. Another man, walking behind the group, carried the walker. | Mr. Weinstein, who recently had back surgery, made his way up the courthouse steps just before 9:15 a.m., his weight sometimes supported by two men as he struggled to stay upright. It was the first time he had entered the courthouse without his tennis-ball-studded walker in weeks. Just steps from the door, he stumbled between the men, as though he were about to fall. Another man, walking behind the group, carried the walker. |
| The trial will hinge on the testimony of six women, four of whose allegations are too old to prosecute in court. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is the handling the case, is hoping that its courtroom presentation will show that Mr. Weinstein engaged in a pattern of sexual predation. | The trial will hinge on the testimony of six women, four of whose allegations are too old to prosecute in court. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is the handling the case, is hoping that its courtroom presentation will show that Mr. Weinstein engaged in a pattern of sexual predation. |
| Opening statements started at 10:15 a.m., as Ms. Hast led the jury through nearly 30 years of Mr. Weinstein’s mistreatment of women. The litany of abuse, the prosecutor said, began in the early 1990s, when Mr. Weinstein raped the up-and-coming actress Annabella Sciorra, who was later known for her work in “The Sopranos.” | Opening statements started at 10:15 a.m., as Ms. Hast led the jury through nearly 30 years of Mr. Weinstein’s mistreatment of women. The litany of abuse, the prosecutor said, began in the early 1990s, when Mr. Weinstein raped the up-and-coming actress Annabella Sciorra, who was later known for her work in “The Sopranos.” |
| After meeting at an Irish bar in Lower Manhattan one night, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein dropped Ms. Sciorra off at her apartment, forced his way inside and began unbuttoning his shirt. Ms. Sciorra thought that she could flee into the bathroom, Ms. Hast said, but Mr. Weinstein pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms above her head and raped her. | After meeting at an Irish bar in Lower Manhattan one night, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein dropped Ms. Sciorra off at her apartment, forced his way inside and began unbuttoning his shirt. Ms. Sciorra thought that she could flee into the bathroom, Ms. Hast said, but Mr. Weinstein pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms above her head and raped her. |
| For decades after the attack, Ms. Hast recounted, Mr. Weinstein made Ms. Sciorra “live in terror,” seeking her out whenever she filmed movies, leaving messages for her and showing up at hotels she was staying in. | For decades after the attack, Ms. Hast recounted, Mr. Weinstein made Ms. Sciorra “live in terror,” seeking her out whenever she filmed movies, leaving messages for her and showing up at hotels she was staying in. |
| Once, according to Ms. Hast, when Ms. Sciorra was placed in a hotel room next to Mr. Weinstein’s during a film festival, she opened her door to find him standing in the hallway in his underwear, with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. | Once, according to Ms. Hast, when Ms. Sciorra was placed in a hotel room next to Mr. Weinstein’s during a film festival, she opened her door to find him standing in the hallway in his underwear, with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. |
| Ms. Haleyi met Mr. Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and soon took a job as a production assistant on Mr. Weinstein’s show “Project Runway,” Ms. Hast said. For the next few months, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Weinstein pressured Ms. Haleyi, offering her trips to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Ms. Hast told the jury, Ms. Haleyi went to Mr. Weinstein’s apartment, where he forced oral sex on her. | Ms. Haleyi met Mr. Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and soon took a job as a production assistant on Mr. Weinstein’s show “Project Runway,” Ms. Hast said. For the next few months, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Weinstein pressured Ms. Haleyi, offering her trips to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Ms. Hast told the jury, Ms. Haleyi went to Mr. Weinstein’s apartment, where he forced oral sex on her. |
| “Miriam decided to just check out,” Ms. Hast said, referring to Ms. Haleyi’s given name. “She tried to endure the violent sexual assault Harvey Weinstein was perpetrating on her.” | “Miriam decided to just check out,” Ms. Hast said, referring to Ms. Haleyi’s given name. “She tried to endure the violent sexual assault Harvey Weinstein was perpetrating on her.” |
| The defense’s opening statement was expected later on Wednesday. Justice James A. Burke, the state judge overseeing the trial, has banned reporters from transmitting live updates from the courtroom. | The defense’s opening statement was expected later on Wednesday. Justice James A. Burke, the state judge overseeing the trial, has banned reporters from transmitting live updates from the courtroom. |
| Emily Palmer contributed reporting. | Emily Palmer contributed reporting. |