Judge Declares a Mistrial in Harvey Weinstein’s Rape Retrial

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors deadlocked in Harvey Weinstein ’s rape retrial Friday, forcing another mistrial in a #MeToo-era case that has gone to trial three times so far.

While the former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes on two U.S. coasts and remains behind bars, the mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo. Prosecutors were pondering whether to try the case a fourth time, after some jurors said outside court that nine out of 12 wanted to acquit Weinstein.

Weinstein, 74, showed little reaction as he was ushered from court, but his attorneys said later that he was pleased with the outcome.

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“Maybe it’s not the win that he wanted, but it’s a win, and we’re going to keep fighting,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said, adding that the defense believed it has "outstanding” prospects if the case is retried.

The majority-male Manhattan jury weighed whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual. It happened in 2013 during a fraught relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger Mann.

Deliberations began Wednesday. On Friday, after the jury sent two notes in 90 minutes saying it was stuck, Judge Curtis Farber declared a mistrial.

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What stood out to jurors

Some jurors said they were struck by gaps in what Mann recalled, particularly when defense lawyers were questioning her.

“The prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story,” said juror Josh Hadar, 57. He favored acquittal: “I don't come to that easily, but it just seemed that there was enough reasonable doubt.”

Another juror, Sarae Perez, 25, noted that she studied feminism and is well versed in #MeToo, but she also couldn't overcome uncertainties about Mann's account.

“There were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it,” she said.

Accuser's reaction: 'I deserve justice'

Mann said in a statement that the mistrial “doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told.”

“I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a greater good,” she said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hailed Mann's “perseverance and bravery” and said in a statement that prosecutors will consult her about next steps. They're due to say next month whether they will retry the case.

How the case returned for a third trial

As an Oscar-winning movie producer and studio boss, Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures and a significant Democratic donor before the long-suppressed sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against him cascaded into public view in 2017. The revelations galvanized the #MeToo movement ’s demands for accountability for sexual misconduct, made Weinstein a pariah, bankrupted the studio and ultimately led to criminal charges against him in New York and Los Angeles.

He was convicted of some and acquitted of others. Yet Mann’s allegation lingered. Weinstein was convicted of the charge in 2020. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict, and jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial. That paved the way for this year’s retrial.

Weinstein has said he was unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The accuser's account

Mann, now 40, met Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013, when she hoped to build a handful of acting credits into a big career. She said his pushy intimate overtures discomfited her at first, but she acceded to them and decided to develop a relationship with him.

However, she said she made it clear she didn’t want sex on March 18, 2013, when he unexpectedly got a room at a Manhattan hotel where she was staying with a friend.

“I said ‘no,’ over and over, and I tried to leave,” she told jurors during five days of intense testimony. She said Weinstein slammed the door, grabbed her arms and ordered her to undress. Scared, she gave up protesting, she said and alleged that he ultimately raped her.

Weinstein’s lawyers highlighted an introspective, private note that Mann wrote herself two days later. While saying nothing about the alleged rape, the note discussed her conflicted feelings about becoming “emotionally attached” in a nonexclusive relationship with a man she didn’t name. She testified that she hadn't needed to write down the alleged rape.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann has done.

Weinstein's defense

Weinstein didn’t testify. In his lawyers’ telling, Mann was a willing partner in a close, supportive relationship with a show-business insider who opened doors for her, but she turned on him once he became an outcast.

In the months and years after the New York encounter, Mann kept seeing and communicating with Weinstein, emails and testimony showed. At times, she pulled away to pursue another relationship; at others, she turned back to Weinstein, who validated her acting dreams and comforted her when her father was terminally ill.

“I love u. Anything u need,” Weinstein wrote.

He helped Mann land a movie audition — it went nowhere — and a hairstyling job. She asked him for help with such things as a car problem, though she declined cash that he tried to send when she couldn’t make rent.

In one of her last emails to Weinstein, in February 2017, she wrote: “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.” When he responded by suggesting she was “joking” and should stop using his company email, she said it was a joke and apologized.

Eight months later, news reports about other women's allegations prompted her to go to the police.

Mann never sued Weinstein, but after his 2020 conviction, she filed for and got about $500,000 from a sexual misconduct settlement fund set up during his company’s bankruptcy. His lawyers didn't mention the payout at this trial.

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Associated Press journalists Ed White in Detroit and Joseph B. Frederick in New York contributed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 16, 2026 02:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).