#MeToo case: What led to Harvey Weinstein’s downfall, what the timeline says

Former American film producer, and co-founder of Miramax productions, Harvey Weinstein, has been convicted of additional sex crimes in New York ahead of a retrial in his #MeToo case, Manhattan prosecutors said on September 12, 2024(local time).
Top Hollywood actresses, from Angelina Jolie, to Gwyneth Paltrow, have said that they were harassed by Weinstein.
In April 2024, the New York Court of Appeals had overturned the sex crimes conviction against Harvey Weinstein and ordered for a fresh trial. The 72-year-old director was convicted in 2020 of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape, and he was sentenced to 23 years in prison, reported CNN.
Here’s a look at the series of events:
The New York Times published a story, detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein. There were accusations that the women actresses were forced to massage him, and watch the director naked.
Several actresses, including Angelina Jolie, British actress Romola Garai, Rose McGwan, Alice Evans, and other notable names had come forward with sexual allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
Famed Titanic actress, Kate Winslet also said that she did not deliberately thank Weinstein when she won her Oscar for a movie in 2009.
According to the BBC, the police had said that the director was accused of assaulting three women in separate incidents in London in the late 1980s, 1992, 2010, 2011 and 2015.
The first claim of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein is filed in the High Court of United Kingdom. A woman who worked in the film industry, and wished to remain anonymous, alleged a series of sexual assaults by the producer.
Several other actresses, including Salma Hayek, Kadian Noble, allege sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein.
British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA), terminates Harvey Weinstein’s membership. Following a four-month long investigation, New York prosecutors announced that they have filed a lawsuit against the the Weinstein Company.
In May 2018, a grand jury in New York convicts Weinstein of rape, and criminal sexual act, and moves the case towards trial, reported BBC. Several other women came forward with sexual crime allegations against the producer, and cases continued to be lodged.
According to US media reports, Weinstein and his studio’s former board members reached a tentative deal with women who accuse him of sexual misconduct, US media report. The settlement to resolve the lawsuits was worth $44 million, which is roughly over ₹36 crore.
The trial proceedings begin in New York, on January 6. Following the series of trials, Weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison, on March 11, 2020. While the lawyers representing the producer argued for leniency, and the terms being reduced to five years, the court ruled otherwise.
The producer is found guilty by a Los Angeles court, for raping a woman.
Harvey Weinstein is sentenced for another 16 years for raping an actress in Los Angeles, in 2013.
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(With inputs from BBC and US Media reports)