Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer argued during closing statements at his retrial that his client was actually the victim.
The disgraced Hollywood executive, now a convicted sex predator, has been undergoing a new trial in Manhattan since late April. His attorney’s closing statements have been making headlines as he attempts to flip the script.
“They’re using their youth, their beauty, their charm, their charisma to get stuff from him,” defense attorney Arthur Aidala said of the three women who testified against him, per <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/03/us-news/closing-arguments-begin-in-harvey-weinsteins-manhattan-rape-trial/">the New York Post</a>.
“I know it’s going to sound crazy, but he’s the one who’s being abused. He’s the one who’s getting used,” he added.
Aidala went into detail about the Miramax co-founder’s romantic relationships with his accusers, saying the sex was both consensual and “transactional” because they all “wanted to cut the line” to getting famous.
He said the women were upset that their method didn’t work and they never achieved notability. “They’re mad. They’re mad to this day,” Aidala <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/harvey-weinstein-abused-defense-retrial-closing-argument-1236416728/">said</a>.
The attorney next referenced the prosecutor deciding on a retrial. “They needed to get the poster boy, the original sinner for the MeToo movement,” Aidala said. “They tried to do it five years ago, and there was a redo, and they’re trying to do it again.”
The defense attorney said the women’s claims were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He described his client as a “fat dude” incapable of participating in some of the sexual acts described by their testimonies.
“Some of these descriptions from these women sound like ‘Cirque du Soleil’!” Aidala said.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg denied these assertions, saying “it wasn’t about fooling around — it was rape.”
Weinstein is charged with two counts of committing a “criminal sexual act” and one count of third-degree rape by former production assistant Miriam Haley, former model Kaja Sokola, and former aspiring actor Jessica Mann. Weinstein pleaded “not guilty” to all charges.
Once a powerful figure in Hollywood, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York following his 2020 conviction on charges of rape and sexual assault. But in April 2024, the New York Court of Appeals overturned that conviction. The court ruled that testimony from three women should not have been included as their accounts were deemed unfairly prejudicial and most likely helped sway the jury.
Weinstein was also found guilty of rape in a Los Angeles court and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the crime.

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Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyers Argue ‘He’s The One Who’s Being Abused’ During Retrial