NEW YORK (AP) — Opening statements are set for Tuesday in Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape retrial, offering a new jury its first look at a bellwether #MeToo case that remains unresolved nearly eight years after the former movie tycoon’s arrest.

Since Weinstein became a major target of the movement against sexual misconduct nearly a decade ago, he has been convicted of some sexual assault charges and acquitted of others in trials on both US coasts. But the rape charge involving a 2013 encounter in a Manhattan hotel has lingered, due to an overturned conviction followed by a jury deadlock.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies ever having nonconsensual sex. He said in court in the winter that he had been unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The jury — seven men and five women — was selected over several days last week. Weinstein’s last New York jury was majority-female, and his first was mostly male.

The current jurors were questioned about, among other things, their familiarity with Weinstein and whether they could be fair and impartial regardless of what they might have heard.

Now a 73-year-old prison inmate, Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. An Academy Award-winning producer and studio boss, he helped bring such acclaimed films as “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “Gangs of New York” to movie houses and the popular reality series “Project Runway” to TV. He also was a prominent donor to Democratic politicians.

His career collapsed in 2017, when decades of Hollywood whispers about his behavior toward women became public accusations in news and social media. Criminal charges followed in New York and Los Angeles.

His accuser in this trial, Jessica Mann, was a hairstylist hoping to break into big-time acting when she met Weinstein at a Los Angeles-area party in late 2012 or early 2013.

She has testified that she was looking for a professional connection but ended up, ambivalently, in a consensual relationship with the then-married Weinstein.

During a New York trip with a friend in March 2013, she arranged a breakfast for both of them with Weinstein, she said. According to Mann’s prior testimony, Weinstein ultimately trapped her in a hotel room, ignored her protestation that “I don’t want to do this,” demanded she undress and grabbed her arms. She said succumbed because she “just wanted to get out.”

Weinstein’s former lawyers emphasized that Mann kept seeing him, accepting invitations, asking him for career help and sending warm messages to him. He has switched legal teams for this retrial, and it remains to be seen how its approach may differ.

The trial is expected to take up to four weeks.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 Op-edDestruction of Jesus statue should serve as moral wake-up call for IDF, Israel

2 Trump says he has ‘no problem’ meeting Iran’s leaders as future of peace talks in doubt

3 InterviewIran ‘is our war,’ says UK lawmaker Greg Smith — contrary to PM Starmer’s claims

4 AnalysisThe 3.00 squeeze: Why the surging shekel is a threat to Israel’s economy

5 40 Israelis detained at Moscow airport, reportedly over war with Iran

6 IDF probes soldier over inciting patches on uniform, amid growing backlash

7 Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day event held in secret amid far-right threats

8 Iran executes two men accused of planning attacks with Israel’s Mossad

© The Times of Israel