Is it time's up for Harvey Weinstein, the poster boy of the #MeToo movement?

The long arm of the law finally grabbed the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and women all around got some satisfaction watching him in handcuffs after being charged with rape and criminal sexual abuse by the New York Police Department (NYPD). The 66-year-old was later released on $1 million bail.

Meanwhile, separate criminal investigations are on in Los Angeles and London, which may bring additional charges against the global entertainer once thought too powerful to be brought down.

Today Weinstein’s company is bankrupt, his wife has left him, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has expelled him, the Producers Guild of America has banned him for life and Harvard University has stripped him of a medal.


Weinstein is shunned, but the battle is far from over. Despite the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements — which enrolled millions of women around the world in a cathartic outcry against the epidemic of rape and sexual assault that brought down many high-powered executives, actors, media mavens and politicians — Weinstein’s road to jail is still littered with uncertainties.

Walking out of the police station, he was smiling, as if confident of beating the rap. Weinstein’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman declared his client would plead “not guilty” because the sexual encounters were “consensual”.

The claim of “consensual” sex means the wheels of justice will grind on and put the two women, whose allegations form the basis of the charges, through the ringer as Brafman tears into them and their testimony in court.

The “he said, she said” should sound anachronistic in the #MeToo age but, rest assured, the age-old defence to destroy rape survivors and shred their stories will be forcefully deployed.

Such a Long Time
It has been roughly three years since New York detectives secretly recorded an audio of Weinstein admitting to groping Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, a model. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance decided not to pursue charges at the time, causing enormous resentment in the department.

Then the dam burst last year and the ground shifted, thanks to women’s courage to speak out and good journalism. The New York Times published a story last October detailing three decades of allegations of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct against Weinstein. Among the first to speak out were actors Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.

A few days later the New Yorker detailed more allegations, including rape, from 13 women, who recounted how Weinstein forced himself on them.

More than 70 women, including many Hollywood A-listers, have since gone on record to recount harrowing tales of hotel rooms, rape, forced oral sex, threats, indecent exposure and straight on blackmail by Weinstein. Uma Thurman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie….

It’s no surprise that a power-drunk movie king allegedly abused so many women for so long. What’s surprising is that it took so long for a critical mass of opinion to coalesce and force action against him.

Apparently Vance didn’t want a repeat of 2011 when he had to withdraw charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, who was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid. The case collapsed amid the maid’s changing story and vanishing credibility. It was an embarrassing defeat.

Interestingly, Weinstein has the same lawyer as Strauss-Kahn – Brafman, whose swagger was unmistakable on Friday as he faced the cameras. Brafman declared his latest celebrity client would be “fully exonerated”.

Leaping into the dark ages, Brafman went on to say, “Mr Weinstein did not invent the casting couch in Hollywood.” The implication was clear: it is a tradition and his client was merely upholding it.

But let’s also not forget that Weinstein was a darling of the Democratic Party, organising countless fundraisers in the service of both Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Not only did he save Bill’s back by contributing generously to the legal defence fund for the Monica Lewinsky-tainted former president, he was also the main man between Hillary and Hollywood during her presidential bid in 2016.

Weinstein helped Obama’s campaign, acting as a “bundler” or a super fundraiser collecting money from other donors and delivering to the candidate. Obama’s daughter Malia did an internship with the Weinstein Company just as her dad left the White House.

Don’t be surprised if Weinstein reinvents himself and makes a comeback down the line.