Who is Harvey Weinstein? Ex-producer who triggered the #MeToo movement gets 16 years in jail in LA rape case

The former American film producer, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a jury convicted him of the 2013 rape and assault of an Italian actressand model. He was sentenced by a Los Angeles court on Thursday, February 24. He attacked the actress in a hotel room during a film festival in the city in February 2013. More than 80 people have made rape and misconduct claims against Weinstein dating back as far as the late 1970s. The 70-year-old is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for a separate conviction in New York.

The disgraced Hollywood mogultold the court, “Please don't sentence me to life in prison. I don't deserve it”. Before Thursday’s hearing, Weinstein maintained that the entire case was a “set-up” against him by the victim. The name of the victim was kept as Jane Doe 1 to protect her identity while speaking in court before the sentence was read. She recounted her trauma and how she endured for “many years” since the assault.

“Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman," she said. "Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage."

Weinstein kept denying to the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench that he did not know the victim at all. “I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1”, he said.

Weinstein called the victim an “actress with the ability turn on her tears”.

Weinstein sat in court looking away for most of the time and did not react when the sentence was read, which came after the judge rejected a motion by defence lawyers for a new trial.

Who is Henry Weinstein?

Henry Weinstein is a former American film producer who co-founded the entertainment company, Miramax, with his brother Bob Weinstein. He produced several successful independent films like The Crying Game, Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, Heavenly Creatures and Flirting with Disaster. He even won an Oscar Award for producing Shakespeare in Love.

After leaving Miramax, Weinstein and his brother Bob founded The Weinstein Company and co-chaired it with Bob in 2005-2017.

Harvey Weinstein: The former Oscar-winning producer who triggered the #MeToo movement

In October 2017, a series of sexual abuse cases were uncovered against him. The cases were as old as 1971, after which Weinstein was dismissed from his company and also expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More than 80 women made allegations of sexual harassment or rape against him by October 31. These allegations sparked the #MeToo social media campaign and subsequent sexual abuse allegations against many powerful men around the world. This phenomenon was later referred to as the “Weinstein effect”.

Weinstein was arrested and charged with rape in New York in May 2018 and was found guilty of two of five felonies in February 2020. Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison at the Wende Correctional Facility. On July 20, 2021, he was extradited to Los Angeles to further face charges at a subsequent trial. Hewas then found guilty of three of seven charges on December 19, 2022.

He was sentenced to 16 years in the Los Angeles trial and his California term must be served separately from his New York sentence. He is therefore all but assured of serving the rest of his life in prison.

Harvey Weinstein’s wife said she didn’t know anything about her husband’s scandals

In 2018, Weinstein’s wife, Georgia Chapman gave her first interview after the scandal erupted around her husband and said that she never knew anything about his alleged sexual misconduct. She broke down and sobbedwhile speaking in that interview with their two children. She said in the interview for Vogue’s June issue, “what I thought was a very happy marriage. I loved my life”.

“There was a part of me that was terribly naive — clearly, so naive,” she says at another point. “I have moments of rage, I have moments of confusion, I have moments of disbelief! And I have moments when I just cry for my children. What are their lives going to be like? What are people going to say to them?” Her interviewer writes that Chapman breaks down in tears at this point. “It’s like, they love their dad. They love him. I just can’t bear it for them!”

In January 2018, Georgia reached a settlement to separate from Weinstein and in July 2021, she divorced her husband.

Harvey Weinstein: Movies and net-worth

Several movies produced by Weinstein were nominated for big film awards like BAFTA, Golden Globes, and Oscars. His movie, Shakespeare in Love, won Oscars for Best Picture, BAFTA for Best Film and also Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy. Some other movies by him include- Malena, Gangs of New York, Nine, and My Week with Marilyn.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Weinstein has a net worth of $ 25 million. When he was at the peak of his career, his estimated net worth was $ 300 million. Much of this valuation was based on the value of The Weinstein Company before the sexual scandals of 2017 broke against him.