Weinstein Says at Rape Retrial Accuser Turned on Him Amid #MeToo

Harvey Weinstein had a “loving,” long-term relationship with a woman he’s accused of raping, but she turned on him amid the #MeToo movement, Weinstein’s lawyer said in opening statements at Weinstein’s retrial.

Once news reports emerged of claims that Weinstein sexually abused women, the onetime mogul was “reviled,” Weinstein lawyer Jacob Kaplan told a jury in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday. Jessica Mann had to either be “with him or against him.”

The trial comes nearly a decade after allegations against the onetime Hollywood kingmaker kickstarted #MeToo, and it may test the enduring influence of that movement.

It marks the third time Weinstein has been tried for allegedly raping Mann, who was a 27-year-old aspiring actress at the time of the encounter in question in a Manhattan hotel room.

He was convicted of raping Mann at his 2020 trial in what was hailed as a landmark win for #MeToo, but that conviction was overturned in 2024 by New York’s highest court. At a retrial last year, jurors failed to reach a verdict on the charge.

In their opening statement, prosecutors said that while some sexual interactions between Weinstein and Mann were consensual, he raped her in 2013.

“Despite the fact that they’d been intimate in the past, ‘no’ means ‘no,’” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Candace White told jurors. “‘No’ was a word that meant nothing to Harvey Weinstein.”

Prosecutors described to jurors a relationship in which Weinstein leveraged his power in Hollywood to lure Mann into his orbit and keep her silent, calling him a “titan” who offered her connections and work after abusing her.

While Weinstein may now appear to be a “frail man in a wheelchair,” White said, at the time of the alleged rape, “he decided who was in and who was out in Hollywood.”

Weinstein is facing significant time behind bars regardless of the trial outcome, but the verdict will determine how long. He was convicted of sexually assaulting another woman, Miriam Haley, at his 2025 trial even as the jurors were hung on the charge involving Mann.

He faces 25 years on the Haley-related conviction, but Judge Curtis Farber won’t sentence Weinstein until the Mann-related rape charge is resolved. Weinstein has indicated he’ll appeal any sentence.

The Miramax co-founder is also facing 16 years in California after a jury in 2022 found him guilty of the rape and sexual assault of a separate woman. That verdict is on appeal with appellate arguments set for this month.

Mangione’s Lawyers Hired

Weinstein has changed his legal team for this trial, tapping New York boutique Agnifilo Intrater, which represented Sean “Diddy” Combs at Combs’ racketeering trial last year, and is representing Luigi Mangione, who is charged with killing UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson.

Another Agnifilo Intrater client is ex-Salomon Brothers trader Howard Rubin, who is facing federal sex-trafficking charges.

Kaplan deviated in his approach from Weinstein’s prior attorney, Arthur Aidala. While Aidala in 2025 described Weinstein as having “casting couch” transactions with the women he was accused of abusing, Kaplan said Weinstein’s relationship with Mann was “supportive,” pointing to alleged messages they exchanged in which Mann said she loved Weinstein.

Kaplan had a far more matter-of-fact style than Aidala, whose folksy manner was a feature of the 2025 trial.

Clinton, Paltrow Photos

Weinstein’s 2020 trial was greeted with pro-#MeToo demonstrations outside the courthouse and global news media. Much of the fanfare was absent on Tuesday, but the courtroom was still crowded with observers.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was seated in the second row, observing his deputies. Agnifilo Intrater lawyer Karen Agnifilo Friedman, the lead attorney representing Mangione, was also in the courtroom observing.

Before opening statements began, the government and defense tussled over whether separate photos of Weinstein with Bill Clinton and Gwyneth Paltrow could be shown to jurors. Weinstein’s attorneys said the photo with Clinton could prejudice the jury after Clinton was recently linked to Jeffrey Epstein, but Farber said the photo would be allowed.

“He’s a former president and was once the most powerful person in the country,” Farber said. Weinstein’s connection to Clinton “at the time is relevant here” as the government seeks to show jurors that Weinstein was an influential man.

Farber agreed with the defense, however, that a photo of Weinstein with Paltrow must be kept out. A juror at voir dire mentioned familiarity with Paltrow’s relationship with Weinstein. The actress has accused Weinstein of sexually harassing her.

The case is People v. Weinstein, N.Y. Sup. Ct., IND-02335-18/001, trial 4/21/26.