MeToo founder says Harvey Weinstein ruling is a “clarion call”
MeToo founder Tarana Burke has responded to the recent overturning of disgraced filmmaker Harvey Weinstein‘s 2020 rape conviction in New York, calling it a “clarion call”.
Burke has assumed a resistant position regarding the criminal acts of Weinstein, claiming it to be a request for action that “we are prepared to answer”.
Her comments follow the recent ruling from a New York Court of Appeals that stated the recent charges made against the director did not result in a fair trial because it involved separate allegations. As a result, Weinstein has been ordered to face a new, fairer trial.
Burke began using the phrase “Me Too” almost two decades ago when she became determined to make the shared abusive experiences that women face a part of mainstream discourse. This experienced a significant turning point after actor Alyssa Milano used the phrase in a social media post that accused Weinstein of sexual assault, over a decade later.
Responding to the latest developments and the importance of the movement in a broader sense, Burke said: “Ten years ago, we could not get a man like Harvey Weinstein into a courtroom,” per BBC.
Burke added that, while “many survivors” may be feeling defeated as they interpreted the “original verdict” as a signifier of “change” in “how this justice system was going to move and operate,” she stressed the fact that “this moment, and this decision, actually means that we have a movement.”
She continued: “We are devastated for the survivors who are connected to this case and the survivors who had found some solace and catharsis in the original verdict around Harvey Weinstein.”
Following Weinstein’s recent ruling, the majority within the court claimed: “It is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behaviour that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.”
In response, Judge Madeline Singas claimed the majority were “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative,” adding that the overturning is in line with the “disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence.”
Weinstein will remain imprisoned after being convicted of another rape in a Los Angeles court in 2022. He was sentenced to 16 years.
This is a developing story.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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