Judge declares a mistrial in Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial after jury
deadlocks
[May 16, 2026]
By JENNIFER PELTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors deadlocked in Harvey Weinstein ’s rape retrial
Friday, forcing another mistrial in a #MeToo-era case that has gone to
trial three times so far.
While the former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes
on two U.S. coasts and remains behind bars, the mistrial leaves the New
York rape charge in limbo. Prosecutors were pondering whether to try the
case a fourth time, after some jurors said outside court that nine out
of 12 wanted to acquit Weinstein.
Weinstein, 74, showed little reaction as he was ushered from court, but
his attorneys said later that he was pleased with the outcome.
“Maybe it’s not the win that he wanted, but it’s a win, and we’re going
to keep fighting,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said, adding that the defense
believed it has "outstanding” prospects if the case is retried.
The majority-male Manhattan jury weighed whether Weinstein raped Jessica
Mann, a hairstylist and actor. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the
encounter was consensual. It happened in 2013 during a fraught
relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger
Mann.
Deliberations began Wednesday. On Friday, after the jury sent two notes
in 90 minutes saying it was stuck, Judge Curtis Farber declared a
mistrial.
What stood out to jurors
Some jurors said they were struck by gaps in what Mann recalled,
particularly when defense lawyers were questioning her.
“The prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of
inconsistencies in her story,” said juror Josh Hadar, 57. He favored
acquittal: “I don't come to that easily, but it just seemed that there
was enough reasonable doubt.”
Another juror, Sarae Perez, 25, noted that she studied feminism and is
well versed in #MeToo, but she also couldn't overcome uncertainties
about Mann's account.
“There were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it,” she said.
Accuser's reaction: 'I deserve justice'
Mann said in a statement that the mistrial “doesn’t in any way detract
from the truth I told.”
“I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public
scrutiny in the name of a greater good,” she said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hailed Mann's “perseverance and
bravery” and said in a statement that prosecutors will consult her about
next steps. They're due to say next month whether they will retry the
case.
How the case returned for a third trial
As an Oscar-winning movie producer and studio boss, Weinstein was one of
Hollywood’s most powerful figures and a significant Democratic donor
before the long-suppressed sexual harassment and sexual assault
allegations against him cascaded into public view in 2017. The
revelations galvanized the #MeToo movement ’s demands for accountability
for sexual misconduct, made Weinstein a pariah, bankrupted the studio
and ultimately led to criminal charges against him in New York and Los
Angeles.
He was convicted of some and acquitted of others. Yet Mann’s allegation
lingered. Weinstein was convicted of the charge in 2020. Then an appeals
court overturned that verdict, and jury deliberations broke down at a
2025 retrial. That paved the way for this year’s retrial.
Weinstein has said he was unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted
wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”
The accuser's account
Mann, now 40, met Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013, when
she hoped to build a handful of acting credits into a big career. She
said his pushy intimate overtures discomfited her at first, but she
acceded to them and decided to develop a relationship with him.
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Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan criminal court on Friday, May
15, 2026, in New York. (Timothy A. Clary/Pool Photo via AP)
 However, she said she made it clear
she didn’t want sex on March 18, 2013, when he unexpectedly got a
room at a Manhattan hotel where she was staying with a friend.
“I said ‘no,’ over and over, and I tried to leave,” she told jurors
during five days of intense testimony. She said Weinstein slammed
the door, grabbed her arms and ordered her to undress. Scared, she
gave up protesting, she said and alleged that he ultimately raped
her.
Weinstein’s lawyers highlighted an introspective, private note that
Mann wrote herself two days later. While saying nothing about the
alleged rape, the note discussed her conflicted feelings about
becoming “emotionally attached” in a nonexclusive relationship with
a man she didn’t name. She testified that she hadn't needed to write
down the alleged rape.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been
sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public,
as Mann has done.
Weinstein's defense
Weinstein didn’t testify. In his lawyers’ telling, Mann was a
willing partner in a close, supportive relationship with a
show-business insider who opened doors for her, but she turned on
him once he became an outcast.
In the months and years after the New York encounter, Mann kept
seeing and communicating with Weinstein, emails and testimony
showed. At times, she pulled away to pursue another relationship; at
others, she turned back to Weinstein, who validated her acting
dreams and comforted her when her father was terminally ill.
“I love u. Anything u need,” Weinstein wrote.
He helped Mann land a movie audition — it went nowhere — and a
hairstyling job. She asked him for help with such things as a car
problem, though she declined cash that he tried to send when she
couldn’t make rent.
In one of her last emails to Weinstein, in February 2017, she wrote:
“I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.” When
he responded by suggesting she was “joking” and should stop using
his company email, she said it was a joke and apologized.
Eight months later, news reports about other women's allegations
prompted her to go to the police.
Mann never sued Weinstein, but after his 2020 conviction, she filed
for and got about $500,000 from a sexual misconduct settlement fund
set up during his company’s bankruptcy. His lawyers didn't mention
the payout at this trial.
___
Associated Press journalists Ed White in Detroit and Joseph B.
Frederick in New York contributed.
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