On the peak of his energy in Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein wouldn’t take no for reply, however he in the end “underestimated the power and strength” of the three ladies accusing him of sexual assault, a prosecutor in his Manhattan retrial advised jurors Wednesday.
“They were all raped by Harvey Weinstein. Over the last eight weeks you heard first-hand about how the defendant raped and sexually abused Miriam Haley, Kaja Sokola and Jessica Mann,” Assistant District Lawyer Nicole Blumberg stated to cap off her marathon closing argument after recapping in small element every of the three accusers’ testimony.
“He held the golden ticket, the chance to make it or not. He made each of these women feel small, no match for the powerbroker of Hollywood,” she stated. “Each victim stayed quiet and compliant for years. They stayed quiet and compliant for years until they knew they were not alone. … In the end, despite the fact that the defendant thought he picked the perfect victims, he underestimated them. He underestimated their power and their strength.”
Nicole Blumberg, assistant Manhattan district legal professional, arrives at Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault re-trial at Manhattan Felony Court docket on Might 13, 2025 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Bing Guan-Pool/Getty Pictures)
Haley, a former TV producer who met Weinstein in 2004, acquired an off-the-books job working for the “Project Runway” TV present in New York in 2006. She accused Weinstein of pulling out a tampon and forcibly performing oral intercourse on her in July 2006, and testified a couple of second, undesirable sexual encounter on the Tribeca Grand Resort two weeks later.
Sokola testified that Weinstein attacked her when she was a 16-year-old mannequin, rubbing her vagina beneath her pants and underwear in 2002, and in 2006, he forcibly carried out oral intercourse on her on the Tribeca Grand Resort whereas her sister waited at a restaurant desk downstairs. Sokola, an aspiring actress, stated she introduced her sister to fulfill Weinstein that day as a result of she needed to point out her household her Hollywood goals must be taken critically.
Mann, an evangelical raised on a farm in Washington State who additionally hoped to turn into an actress, alleges Weinstein raped her in Midtown’s DoubleTree Resort in March 2013, however maintained an advanced “relationship” that included some consensual sexual encounters for years.
Miriam Haley leaves Manhattan Supreme Court docket Monday in April 2025. (Barry Williams/ New York Day by day Information)
Mann and Haley testified at Weinstein’s 2020 trial, which led to his responsible verdict and a 23-year jail time period earlier than the state’s highest court docket overturned the conviction final 12 months.
In a closing argument that stretched throughout Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday, Blumberg stated all three ladies feared Weinstein’s affect on their lives and careers in the event that they got here ahead.
“They buried their trauma as if nothing happened to them. They buried it from themselves. They buried it from the defendant. They buried it from most of the rest of the world,” she stated.
“It took strength, it took courage, but they were able to do it. … He couldn’t silence them forever.”
Polish former mannequin Kaja Sokola arrives at Manhattan Federal Court docket in New York Metropolis on Might 16, 2025. (Photograph by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
Blumberg additionally took a swipe at protection lawyer Arthur Aidala’s bombastic closing argument Tuesday, who made references to the flicks “My Cousin Vinny” and “Pulp Fiction,” gave particulars about his personal intercourse life, in contrast cheap doubt to a chunk of a damaged wine glass in his grandmother’s pot of sauce, and mimicked Haley crying throughout cross examination.
Jessica Mann arrives at court docket earlier than Harvey Weinstein’s retrial in Manhattan, Wednesday, Might 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photograph/Pamela Smith, Pool)
In a single dramatic second, Aidala stomped into the witness field and gave an impression of witness Elizabeth Entin, one among two buddies who testified that Haley advised them in regards to the alleged 2006 sexual assault shortly after it occurred.
Blumberg derided Aidala’s closing as an “Academy Award-winning performance.”
“He’s the only one who actually acted in this courtroom,” she stated. “He mocked every witness, but maybe Elizabeth Entin the most. Because her testimony is the most damaging.”
Initially Revealed: June 4, 2025 at 6:04 PM EDT
