Prosecutors and defense attorneys made opening statements Wednesday in a retrial of Harvey Weinstein on rape charges. The disgraced movie mogul was convicted of rape in 2020, but that landmark ruling was later overturned due to a judge’s error. This time around, the case will be heard by a majority-female jury. This trial will also feature a newly added allegation by former model Kaja Sokola, who accuses Weinstein of forcing oral sex on her in 2006. Sokola’s lawyer spoke to reporters after Wednesday’s opening arguments here in New York.
Lindsay Goldbrum: “The #MeToo movement is alive and well. There has been incredible changes in legislation surrounding sexual assault. I think as a society we are starting to have a better collective understanding about the trauma that sexual assault survivors have faced, and we are able to differentiate these rape myths and the victim blaming, which is a tactic that Weinstein’s lawyers have used in this trial.”