Day Two of Harvey Weinstein's Retrial

ZIJIE YANG, HOST:

It’s day two of former Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein’s retrial. Weinstein was convicted of rape back in 2020. But last year, the New York Court of Appeals overturned his conviction. So Weinstein is back in court. Uptown Radio’s Hannah Lorenzo was at the courthouse earlier this morning. Hi Hannah. 

HANNAH LORENZO, BYLINE: Hi Zijie. 

YANG: So, what was the mood like?

LORENZO: Well, it was pretty empty. Which surprised me because as you know, Weinstein was considered a media mogul in Hollywood. You may have heard of some of his most famous films, like Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love. So when he was convicted five years ago, it not only rocked the film industry. But it also sparked the MeToo Movement, when women started speaking up about men sexually assaulting them. 

YANG: So was there at least a lot of press there?

LORENZO: No, but I will say that I did show up pretty early, like three hours before the doors were even open to the public. But there were no lines outside. When I finally got in, the courtroom on the thirteenth floor was also pretty underwhelming. I was keeping my eye on Arthur Aidala, one of Weinstein’s attorneys. And he seemed very confident. He was wearing this fancy charcoal plaid suit, blue striped tie and gold watch. Right before the trial began, he was showing something on his phone and laughing with three other men huddled near the front of the courtroom. 

But I was still waiting for Harvey Weinstein to show up. And when a police officer finally pushed him in in his wheelchair, Weinstein just had this blank look on his face. 

YANG: So back in 2020, Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to twenty three years in Rikers Island. He had been found guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley and raping actress Jessica Mann. That conviction was overturned—but now he still faces rape and sexual assault charges from the same two women. And from a third woman who was just publicly identified—Kaja Sokola. 

So how did today’s proceedings start? 

LORENZO: Well first, prosecutor Shannon Lucey presented the jury with a lot of photographs to try to show how powerful Weinstein was. They showed photos of him with Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth the second. There were also photos of him with other actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Penelope Cruz. 

YANG: And were any witnesses called?

LORENZO: Well, I want to talk to you about the second witness—Elizabeth Entin. When she walked into the courtroom, the first thing I heard was her high heels clacking super loudly, and she stumbled a bit too. But that didn’t stop her from looking super confident. She had her head held high and when she was sworn in, she said she was certainly going to tell the truth to the courtroom. 

The reason Entin was brought in is to testify about being a friend and roommate of Miriam Haley—one of the women accusing Weinstein of sexual assault. Entin said she met Haley in 2005 and became roommates the next year. She remembers that Haley was working on Project Runway—the reality t.v. show that Weinstein produced. 

YANG: What’s the strategy in bringing in this kind of witness?

LORENZO: Entin was able to share what it was like to meet Weinstein and what it was like to see Haley and Weinstein together. During an event, Entin described for the jury how Weinstein went up to Haley, put his arm around her, pulled her in and said, “This is the sexiest woman I know.” And then Entin noticed that Haley looked uncomfortable.

The defense objected at that point, and that was a pattern this morning. When the prosecutor, Shannon Lucey, would ask Entin to describe what Haley looked like or told her, the defense came right in with objections, including hearsay. 

But it wasn’t enough to stop Entin describing a call she got from Haley while she was at work and later a conversation they had in their apartment. She described Haley as seeming shaken and anxious and said she wasn’t making eye contact with her. Then she said Haley told her that Weinstein “forcibly put his mouth on her vagina without her consent.” And it’s worth noting that this was the first time this morning that I saw a visible reaction from Weinstein. He was slightly shaking his head like he was disagreeing with what she said. 

Entin said Haley became more closed off since that day. 

YANG: Weinstein moved from Rikers Island to Bellevue [Bell-view] Hospital in Manhattan because of his severe health conditions. And that’s where he is staying for now for the duration of the retrial. Hannah Lorenzo, thank you so much for being here today.

LORENZO: Thanks for having me. 

Outside the New York County Criminal Court early Thursday morning.