‘Profoundly unjust’: Reactions to court overturning Weinstein’s conviction

Women react with dismay to New York court’s decision to overturn the rape conviction of former movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

A New York appeals court has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for rape, saying the trial judge should not have allowed other women to testify about alleged assaults that the movie mogul had not been charged with in that particular case.

More than 100 women, including some of the world’s most prominent actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since 2017.

After his 2020 criminal trial in New York, a civil trial awarded $17m to dozens of other women who had accused Weinstein of abuse. In 2022, he was also convicted of rape in California and jailed for 16 years.

Here is some of the reaction to Thursday’s decision:

“Today’s ruling is not merely a victory for Harvey Weinstein, but it’s a victory for every citizen in this country who’s charged with a crime, and no matter how popular or unpopular they are, the court has declared loudly that they are entitled to all of the protections in our United States Constitution and our New York state constitution.”