US president Donald Trump has said Harvey Weinstein’s conviction for rape and sexual assault is a “great thing”.
Mr Trump called it a “great victory” for women that “sends a very strong message” for the #MeToo movement against that kind of behaviour towards women.
The president himself has been accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour by more than a dozen women when he was a private citizen.
He has denied the allegations.
Speaking at a news conference in New Delhi on Tuesday at the end of a two-day trip to India, Mr Trump said he is not a “fan” of disgraced movie mogul Mr Weinstein.
A New York jury convicted the former Hollywood producer on Monday.
Weinstein had denied allegations of non-consensual sex.
New York prosecutors have hailed Weinstein’s conviction as a pivotal moment that could change the way the legal system views a type of sexual assault case historically considered difficult to prove.
Most of the women who testified against Weinstein stayed in contact with him – and sometimes had consensual sexual encounters with him – after his alleged attacks. None promptly reported his crimes, and there was little physical evidence to bolster their stories.
The jury convicted Weinstein anyway, finding the producer guilty of raping one woman in 2013 and sexually assaulting another in 2006.
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said after the verdict was announced: “This is a new day.
“Rape is rape whether the survivor reports within an hour, within a year, or perhaps never. It’s rape despite the complicated dynamics of power and consent after an assault. It’s rape even if there is no physical evidence.”
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) February 24, 2020
Some women’s advocates cautioned that it is too soon to know how much the legal landscape has shifted.
“This is not a signal that our systems and institutions are magically transformed,” said Sonia Ossorio, the president of the National Organisation for Women’s New York chapter, who sat through most of the trial. “This is one case, one man. We’ve got to keep it in perspective.”
If any case encapsulated the #MeToo reckoning with sexual misconduct, gender dynamics and power as a form of coercion, it was Weinstein’s.
Dozens of women who crossed paths with Weinstein through the entertainment industry have said he bullied, pressured, coerced or overpowered them while demanding sexual favours.
The alleged encounters took place over many decades, amid movie screenings in Los Angeles, film festivals in Cannes, and business meetings in New York or London.
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