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“This is not a blow to the movement,” MeToo founder Tarana Burke defiantly said in the wake of Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction being overturned in 2020 in New York.
“This is a clarion call and we are ready to answer it,” she declared.
Her rally call comes after Weinstein, once one of Hollywood's most successful and influential producers, came forward in 2020, when prosecutors subpoenaed witnesses whose accusations against Mr. Weinstein The decision was made after the New York Court of Appeals ruled that he did not receive a fair trial because he was not a part of the case.
As a result, the judge ordered Weinstein to undergo a new trial.
The movie mogul's attorney, Arthur Aidala, hailed the decision as “a victory for all criminal defendants in New York state.”
“There are still some very unpopular people in our society, and yet the law must be applied fairly to them in that case. The law was not applied fairly to Harvey Weinstein.” he added.
Mr. Weinstein's New York trial is critical to the MeToo movement against sexual abuse after several women came forward alleging that Mr. Weinstein sexually abused them. , which quickly spread on the internet.
Mr. Weinstein has always maintained his innocence, and his defense team said during his New York trial that the sex between the filmmaker and his accuser was consensual.
Burke, an activist who works with survivors of sexual violence, started using the term “Me Too” in 2006 to raise awareness for abused women.
Eleven years later, the phrase became known worldwide after actress Alyssa Milano, one of the people who accused Weinstein of sexual assault, used it in a tweet.
“We are devastated for the survivors involved in this case and for the survivors who found some comfort and catharsis in the original verdict on Harvey Weinstein,” Burke said. .
“I think a lot of people, a lot of survivors, and people who love and support survivors, probably think that the first verdict means that change is going to happen, it signals change, and it's important to understand how this justice system moves and operates. “I would have thought it would be a differentiator,” she explained.
But she added that “this moment and this decision means we are actually in a movement,” stressing that much progress is still being made.
“Ten years ago, you couldn't bring someone like Harvey Weinstein to court,” she said.
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Rowena Chiu said Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in Venice in 1998, when she was his personal assistant. Although she initially signed her non-disclosure agreement, she later published her story.
“I personally say the work is just beginning.”
But she added that New York's overturning of the ruling “feels like a jump back in time.”
Chiu said it was already a reality that sexual assault cases were “incredibly difficult” to file. “But these rulings were a ray of hope after centuries of darkness for women's rights.”
“Today is not going to be an encouraging day.” [survivors] To change that situation. ”
Chiu hopes the overturning of the New York state rape conviction will lead to calls for legal reform, leading to future changes to how New York state allows the use of secondary witnesses.
However, some argue that court decisions should be respected to ensure everyone is treated fairly.
Asked about Thursday's verdict, TV journalist and former CNN news anchor Don Lemon said, “I'm not a fan of Harvey Weinstein. That doesn't mean I think he's innocent, but everyone It should be equal and fair.” Treatment based on law.
“If there was something wrong with his trial… he should be given justice.”
But for Burke, the MeToo movement is about more than Harvey Weinstein.
At a red carpet event on Thursday, the MeToo founder told The Associated Press, “Just because one unique man is exonerated doesn't mean we can't have a world free of sexual violence.” .
“So I'm not worried about one singular man. I'm worried about what our justice system is going to be, what our culture is going to be, what we're going to do.” Are you planning on doing that?”
Burke has previously said that celebrity sexual abuse cases should not be seen as the sole indicator of the MeToo movement's success. “Whether celebrities go to prison or not is not sustainable as a movement,” she told the BBC in 2020 following Weinstein's (now overturned) conviction.
Rather, she said, the movement's victories should be measured by focusing on the well-being of survivors.
Mr. Weinstein, 72, remains in prison. He was separately convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022.
Before the allegations against him surfaced, the producer and his brother Bob were among Hollywood's ultimate power players.
The two co-founded the distribution company Miramax Films in 1979, named after their mother Miriam and father Max. The company was sold to Disney in his 1993 year.
Their hits include 1998's Shakespeare in Love, which shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Weinstein. Over the years, Weinstein's films have earned her more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.
