In October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker reported that dozens of women had accused the American film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women in the film industry eventually accused Weinstein of such acts. Weinstein himself denied "any non-consensual sex". Shortly after, he was dismissed from the Weinstein Company (TWC), expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other professional associations, and retired from public view.
Criminal investigations into complaints from at least six women took place in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. In May 2018, Weinstein was arrested in New York and charged with rape and other offenses. In 2020, he was found guilty of rape in the third degree and a criminal sexual act, and was sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment, but that conviction was overturned on appeal in 2024 because of procedural errors. In 2025, Weinstein was convicted of one count of sexual assault in the retrial. He was sentenced to 16 more years after being convicted in Los Angeles of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault, which he also appealed. In June 2026, Weinstein's rape charge concerning Jessica Mann was dropped following hung juries at two trials and Mann's unwillingness to pursue a fourth trial.
The New York Times and The New Yorker were awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their coverage of Weinstein. The scandal triggered many similar allegations against powerful men around the world, leading to the ousting of many from their positions. It also led numerous women to share their own experiences of sexual assault, harassment, or rape on social media under the hashtag #MeToo. The scandal's impact on powerful men in various industries came to be called the Weinstein effect.
Background Harvey Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, formed the film production company Miramax and led it from 1979 to 2005, at which point they left to run The Weinstein Company (TWC), which they had founded in March 2005.
Rumors of Harvey Weinstein's "casting couch" practices (soliciting sexual favors from a job applicant in exchange for employment) circulated in Hollywood for years, and entertainment figures at times alluded to them. As early as 1998, Gwyneth Paltrow said on Late Show with David Letterman that Weinstein "will coerce you to do a thing or two". In 2005, Courtney Love advised young actresses in an interview, "If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in the Four Seasons, don't go." In 2010, an article titled "Harvey's Girls" for Pajiba alluded to Weinstein's "casting couch" reputation: "Every few years, Harvey picks a new girl as his pet." In 2012, a character on the television series 30 Rock said: "I'm not afraid of anyone in show business: I turned down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions – out of five." While announcing the 2013 nominees for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, Seth MacFarlane joked: "Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein." After the allegations were published, director Quentin Tarantino said that he had known about Weinstein harassing actresses for decades, and had confronted him about it. Ivana Lowell wrote in her book Why Not Say What Happened?, published in 2010, about misbehavior by Weinstein when she worked for the books division of Miramax. The incidents described were in her office when she was alone with Harvey Weinstein, and in her home when a female friend of hers was present. She wrote that she "knew about Harvey's reputation as a womanizer; tales of his trying to seduce every young actress in town were infamous".
Journalists wrote or attempted to write about Weinstein's alleged behavior. David Carr found that no one allegedly assaulted by Weinstein would speak on the record; Ken Auletta and his editors decided he could not mention an assault allegation without cooperation from the victim. In 2015, Jordan Sargent wrote in his Gawker article "Tell Us What You Know About Harvey Weinstein's 'Open Secret'" that "rumors of the powerful producer leveraging his industry power for sexual satisfaction—consensual or otherwise—have tended to remain unaired, confined to hushed conversation and seedier gossip-blog comment threads." The New York Times later wrote that Weinstein had built a "wall of invulnerability", in part through his support of leading Democratic politicians. He boasted being friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. The Clintons continued longstanding close relationships with him despite alleged warnings about Weinstein to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign from Lena Dunham and Tina Brown.
In 2015, The New York Times reported that Weinstein was questioned by police "after a 22-year-old woman accused him of touching her inappropriately". The woman, Italian model Ambra Gutierrez, cooperated with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to obtain an audio recording where Weinstein admitted to having inappropriately touched her. As the police investigation progressed and became public, tabloids published negative stories about Gutierrez that portrayed her as an opportunist. American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, allegedly agreed to help suppress the allegations by Gutierrez and Rose McGowan. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. decided not to file charges against Weinstein, citing insufficient evidence of criminal intent, against the advice of local police who considered the evidence sufficient. The New York district attorney's office and the NYPD blamed each other for failing to bring charges.
In July 2018, after many allegations and criminal charges of sexual misconduct, Greek journalist Taki Theodoracopulos said to The Spectator that his friend Weinstein told him in an interview, "Yes, I did offer them [girls] acting jobs in exchange for sex, but so did and still does everyone." Weinstein's lawyer later said he had been present, and Weinstein did not make that statement. Theodoracopulos stated he "may have misrepresented" Weinstein. Weinstein's quotes and some of the author's observations were later removed from the article which only appeared on the magazine's website.
2017 reports Substantial allegations of sexual misconduct by Weinstein were first reported by The New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey on October 5, 2017. The story accused Weinstein of three decades of sexually harassing and paying eight settlements to actresses and female production assistants, temps, and other employees who worked at Miramax and TWC. The investigation, which came on the heels of a successful exposé of Bill O'Reilly by The New York Times, had taken roughly five months.
Five days later, on October 10, longtime NBC News correspondent Ronan Farrow reported in The New Yorker further allegations that Weinstein had sexually assaulted or harassed thirteen women and raped three. Farrow said he had wanted to break the story months earlier with NBC, but implied the network was under pressure not to publish, which NBC denied. According to Farrow, 16 former or current executives and assistants connected with Weinstein said they had witnessed or had been informed of Weinstein's non-consensual sexual advances to women. Four actresses relayed their suspicion that, after rejecting Weinstein's advances and complaining about him, he had them removed from projects or persuaded others to remove them. A number of Farrow's sources said Weinstein had referred to his success in planting stories in the media about individuals who had crossed him. The New Yorker also published the 2015 audio recording in which Weinstein admits to groping Gutierrez.
In November 2017, Farrow reported that Weinstein had, through the lawyer David Boies, employed private intelligence agencies Kroll and Black Cube and private investigator Jack Palladino to spy on and influence Weinstein's alleged victims as well as Kantor, Twohey, Farrow and other reporters who were investigating Weinstein. He took these actions, according to Farrow, to prevent his sexual conduct from becoming public.
Victims and accusers Since the initial reporting in 2017, over 80 women accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, assault, or rape. In November 2017, a group of the alleged victims, led by Italian actress Asia Argento, released a list of over 100 alleged instances of sexual abuse by Weinstein. The incidents in the list date from 1980 to 2015 and include eighteen allegations of rape.
According to the women's reports, Weinstein invited young actresses or models into a hotel room or office on the pretext of discussing their career, and then he demanded massages or sex. He told them that complying with his demands would help their careers and repeatedly used Gwyneth Paltrow as an example, telling them that she had had sex with him, unbeknownst to the actress. Paltrow had rebuffed his propositions, but he told multiple young actresses that she had slept with him as a "weapon" to pressure them into complying with his demands.
Former colleagues and collaborators of Weinstein told reporters that these activities were enabled by employees, associates and agents who set up these meetings, as well as lawyers and publicists who suppressed complaints with payments and threats. Bob Weinstein, for example, was allegedly involved in three settlements with accusers, the first in 1990. One Miramax executive reported being harassed by Weinstein after being promoted and praised by him; she and other employees allegedly found that the HR department protected Weinstein more than they did his employees.
On May 29 and July 9, 2024, Weinstein returned to a New York courthouse, where he was told that he could face charges related to additional sex abuse allegations. During the July 9, 2024, court appearance, it was revealed that prosecutors were investigating whether or not to bring additional criminal charges against Weinstein for other sex abuse allegations. However, despite the ongoing investigation, no new indictment was immediately made against Weinstein.
Sexual harassment or assault Weinstein has sexually assaulted at least three women. He was initially convicted in 2020 of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann and sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, a production assistant. The Jessica Mann verdict was overturned on appeal. Following two retrials at which the jury failed to reach a verdict, charges of rape of Mann were dropped in June 2026. In 2022, he was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting an unnamed woman who later revealed herself to be Evgeniya Chernyshova, a former model and actor.
Women who said they had been inappropriately touched, sexually harassed or assaulted by Weinstein include:
Amber Anderson, actress Lysette Anthony, actress Asia Argento, actress and director Rosanna Arquette, actress Jessica Barth, actress Kate Beckinsale, actress Juls Bindi, massage therapist Cate Blanchett, actressBlanchett said she had been harassed by Weinstein, though she would not elaborate. Helena Bonham Carter, actress Zoë Brock, model Cynthia Burr, actress Liza Campbell, writer and artist Alexandra Canosa, producer Rowena Chiu, Weinstein employee Marisa Coughlan, actress and writer Hope Exiner d'Amore, Weinstein employee Florence Darel, actress Wedil David, actress Emma de Caunes, actress Paz de la Huerta, actress Juliana De Paula, model Cara Delevingne, actress and model Sophie Dix, actress Jane Doe, model and aspiring actress Lacey Dorn, actress and filmmaker Kaitlin Doubleday, actress Caitlin Dulany, actress Dawn Dunning, actress Lina Esco, actress and director Alice Evans, actress Lucia Evans, formerly Lucia Stoller, actress Angie Everhart, model and actress Claire Forlani, actress Romola Garai, actress Louisette Geiss, screenwriter and actress