Weinstein Trial Heads Toward Verdict as Prosecutors and Defense Clash Over Jessica Mann Testimony

Convicted s– offender and former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is currently facing his third trial in New York for allegedly r—-- aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. Defense and prosecution teams delivered their closing statements on May 12, and the jury will now begin deliberating the verdict.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors highlighted the alleged trauma suffered by Mann for years. On the other hand, defense emphasized that Mann, 40, had conflicting emotions toward Weinstein, 74, as the two had been in an on-and-off relationship for years. Weinstein was already married to Georgina Chapman at the time.

Weinstein, whose downfall helped spark the #MeToo movement in 2017, has always claimed that all his s—-- encounters with women were consensual. Mann has maintained that the former producer assaulted her while she was trying to make a career in Hollywood.

During the trial, Mann testified for five days and stated she met Weinstein for the first time when she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 27. According to her, she planned to meet Weinstein for breakfast while visiting New York in 2013. However, the producer allegedly booked a hotel room and invited her there.

Mann said that when she went to the room, Weinstein locked the door against her wishes and forced himself on her. “I just gave up, I wanted to get out,” she testified. However, Mann acknowledged that she was in a complicated relationship with Weinstein before and after the assault.

“Whether you’re in a hotel room with somebody or not, you have the right to say no. Jessica Mann said no over and over and over again,” Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said during closing arguments. “He wanted her body, and the more she said ‘no’ and the more she resisted, the more violent he became. This is a woman who was manipulated,” she added.

In response, the defense said Mann was lying, and the assault never took place. Marc Agnifilo, one of the defense attorneys, submitted a note written by Mann two days after the alleged assault. In the note, the aspiring actress had expressed that she had complicated feelings for Weinstein.

“I have let myself become emotionally attached to someone which, even though the label of “non-…” I feel exclusively, the actions vs. how I feel towards this one person has conflict in my life,” the note said, adding, “Do I love myself enough to make mistakes? Do I want to live in fear or boldness?”

Though the note did not name Weinstein, Mann did not deny in court that it was written for the producer. Meanwhile, the prosecution argued that the defense was engaging in ‘victim blaming’ by accusing Mann of lying. The jurors will now decide whether Weinstein is guilty of the charges.

The Oscar-winning producer is already serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of s—-- assault in California in 2022. He was also convicted of r—-- Mann in New York in 2020, but the verdict was overturned. In 2025, the case went for a retrial but ended in a deadlock. The current trial marks the third proceeding in the case.