Long walk to justice: Weinstein guilty of rape
AFTER SIX WEEKS of dramatic, visceral testimony, and almost 20 hours of jury deliberation, last Monday, in a New York courtroom, Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault. Once feared and revered in equal measure as a Hollywood producer with the power to make or break both films and their stars, 67-year-old Weinstein was led from the court in handcuffs, and now awaits sentencing; he could serve up to 29 years in prison.
Since the revelations regarding Weinstein began – revelations that ignited the #Metoo movement – in The New York Times on 5 October 2017, 108 women have come forward to report that he abused or sexually harassed them, pressured or coerced them into sex, attempted to trade career opportunities for sexual favours, and raped them, in a pattern of abusive behaviour that spanned cities, countries and decades.
And yet the world had waited with baited breath for the verdict – unsure which side the jury would come down on regarding the man who was once the most powerful person in Hollywood. ‘People had told me, “Prepare yourself for him to get off. It’s hard to convict this kind of thing and just doesn’t happen,”’ Katherine Kendall, a 50-year-old actor who met Weinstein when she was 23, told Grazia. After a supposed business meeting, she says, he trapped her in his apartment and attempted to force her to give him a massage and show him her breasts.
‘I was so scared and anxious at the thought that he might be found not guilty, and how that would set us all back – not just in this case, but in all the cases of women speaking up, so it feels like an incredible win.’ She cried with relief when the verdict came through. ‘It felt like, wow, did we actually just get listened to? Nobody wants to watch anyone go to jail. But there have to be consequences.’
The jailing of Weinstein also means that ‘people are safe from his predatory way
– and retaliation’, said Kendall, who, after speaking publicly, says she was targeted by Black Cube, the secret private investigative agency hired by Weinstein. ‘It was a very real fear – I’ve angered him, what will he do next?’
Louise Godbold, a 57-year-old trauma specialist who also encountered Weinstein in her twenties, when she was working in
the film industry, was equally overwhelmed by the news of his conviction. ‘When I came forward my friends and family said, “Don’t do it, he’s really powerful. He’s got powerful lawyers,”’ said Godbold. ‘We never thought that he would be toppled.’
In a situation not unlike that reported by Kendall, Godbold alleges that he first cornered her in a conference room at Miramax in New York, grabbed her hand, put it on his crotch, then, in a second incident – after he had been contrite about the first – in a bathrobe in a hotel room in Los Angeles, asked her to give him a massage. ‘But before October 2017, I thought it was just me – I did not know there were any other victims,’ she said. From having felt alone in her experiences for so long, she is now part of a group of 35 alleged victims who have become close, and many of whom she has trained in trauma and resilience.
Though found guilty on two charges – which he plans to appeal – Weinstein was found not guilty of three more, including the most serious – predatory sexual assault. But the case against him is not over. A separate trial is being prepared in Los Angeles, where he is accused of raping an Italian model in a hotel room, and trapping a second model in a bathroom and masturbating while he groped her, both in 2013.
Both Godbold and Kendall have been interviewed by the prosecuting teams in California, where the statute of limitations is longer, meaning older historical cases of sexual misconduct can potentially be tried, and told Grazia they are prepared to testify, if asked. Kendall is also part of a civil lawsuit against Weinstein, with a potential payout of $25 million to the 30 actresses who are plaintiffs.
‘Money isn’t ever going to soothe the pain or take away what happened,’ she said. ‘But it’s about holding him accountable.’