Ashley Judd has said that the overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction by New York Court of Appeals on Thursday was “institutional betrayal”.
“This today is an act of institutional betrayal,” Judd told a press conference of the 4-3 majority ruling by the court. “And our institutions betrayed survivors of male sexual violence.”
Judd, one of the first women to speak out against alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein in 2017, was in New York advocating at the United Nations in favour of eliminating all forms of harassment and male sexual violence in the world of work.
“I stand shoulder to shoulder with women who have bloody knees,” she continued, “because male sexual violence may knock us down, but we get right back up and together we are in this struggle to freedom from male entitlement to our bodies.”
Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movement, told the press conference: “We are devastated for the survivors who are connected to this case, and the survivors who have found solace and catharsis in the original verdict around Harvey Weinstein.
“I am preparing myself for the onslaught of, ‘What does this mean for the MeToo movement?’. And so I want you to hear this: this is not a blow to the movement; it is a clarion call, and we are prepared to answer that call.”
Posting on X, Mira Sorvino, who alleged sexual harassment against Weinstein and said he “stifled” her career, wrote, “Horrified!” and said she was “disgusted” with a justice system that skews towards “predators not victims”.
No comments yet