The lawyer representing Harvey Weinstein claims he is ‘not a rapist’ and has been made a ‘scapegoat’ for the #MeToo movement.
Donna Rotunno said a ‘band of sisterhood’ could ‘cloud true events and facts’ during the disgraced film mogul’s upcoming rape and sexual assault trial in New York.
Weinstein, who is recovering from recent back surgery and has been seen shuffling into court this week using a walker, is charged with raping one woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on another in 2006.
In an interview with ITV News, Rotunno accused the #MeToo movement of going ‘too far’ and said he had a right to a fair trial.
If convicted the 67-year-old could get life in prison if convicted. His defence team tried to delay the jury selection in light of a new case filed in Los Angeles, but that request was denied by a judge.
Film producer Harvey Weinstein arriving at New York Criminal Court alongside his lawyer Donna Rotunno for his sexual assault trial in the Manhattan today
Donna Rotunno told ITV News her client, Harvey Weinstein, has been made a ‘scapegoat’
In the Los Angeles case, which will be tried at a later date, he is accused of sexually assaulting two women on back-to-back nights in 2013.
The former studio boss behind such Oscar-winning movies such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love has said any sexual activity was consensual.
‘I met with Harvey, I spoke with Harvey and from day one I didn’t believe that he was a rapist,’ Rotunno told ITV News in her first UK broadcast interview.
She said: ‘Harvey has the right to a defence. Harvey has the right to a fair trial. Harvey has the right to be presumed innocent.
‘I do think he’s been made a scapegoat and I think that Harvey is accused of doing things that have happened for decades and decades and decades.’
Once one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers, Weinstein has now been accused of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct by dozens of women, from famous actresses to assistants at his former company, that triggered the #MeToo movement.
Harvey Weinstein, followed by his attorney Donna Rotunno (right) today. He has been seen arriving at New York City criminal court for his sex crimes trial using a walker and struggling to get up stairs
Rotunno also accused the #MeToo movement of going ‘too far’ and said Weinstein had a right to a fair trial
Asked if the #MeToo movement had gone too far, Rotunno said: ‘I do think anything that strips of your right to a fair trial puts you in a circumstance you have to say that it’s gone too far.
Rutunno claimed there was ‘almost a celebrity status that comes with making some kind of a claim against Harvey’.
She added: ‘I think that band of sisterhood may cloud the true events and facts.’
The New York lawyer told ITV News correspondent Rebecca Barry that she confident that under cross-examination she would expose what she called ‘lies’.
Questioned on whether a woman would accuse a man of rape because they’re fame hungry, Rotunno added: ‘I think to say that women won’t lie is not true. I think women do lie, I think women have lied and that’s the unbelievable benefit of cross examination.’
She went on to say that she believes if found not-guilty, Weinstein would ‘come back stronger’.
‘He has that kind of fortitude he has that grip that I think pushes people forward. he’s really extraordinary in that way and I do, I think that he can come back bigger than before.’
Donna Rotunno, Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer, speaking to the media outside court after a hearing in New York on Monday
Harvey Weinstein (centre) leaving court with his lead attorney Donna Rotunno (left centre) at the end of the first day of jury selection in his trial on Tuesday
Earlier today Weinstein’s defence team tried to ban celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing multiple alleged victims in the case, from the trial.
Among Allred’s clients is former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, one of the women Weinstein was charged with assaulting.
But Judge James Burke denied the request, saying there was too much uncertainty over whether Allred would take the stand to prevent her from observing testimony.
Yesterday 84 potential jurors were dismissed after admitting they could not be impartial in the case.
Prospective jurors were read a list of names that could come up during the trial of Weinstein, either as witnesses or who could be referenced as part of proceedings, including actresses Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron and Rosie Perez.
Hayek claimed in December 2017 she was harassed and propositioned by Weinstein for close to a decade.
During an interview with Oprah, Hayek claimed Weinstein threatened to ‘break her kneecaps’, after she refused his advances during filming for the 2002 film Freida.
Theron blasted Weinstein last December amid claims he told aspiring actresses she had slept with him to get acting roles.