Harvey Weinstein’s new trial is almost over. It could be a litmus test for #MeToo

Closing arguments in Harvey Weinstein’s second sex crimes trial in New York are underway today.

In 2020, a New York jury convicted Weinstein of rape and sexual assault, completing the fall from grace of the legendary film mogul. But Weinstein’s conviction was dismissed on appeal last year, and a new trial began in April.

Aside from Weinstein and his accusers, few of the people in the courtroom were there five years ago. The judge and jurors are different; so are the prosecutors and some of the defense attorneys.

The climate has also changed. During his 2020 trial, the #MeToo movement was at its height, and the careers of powerful men such as Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and R. Kelly had recently come apart after they were publicly accused of serious sexual offenses. Detailed sexual assault allegations against Weinstein helped to catalyze the #MeToo movement when they were published in The New York Times and The New Yorker in the the fall of 2017.

But today, a number of prominent men accused of misconduct, including comedian Louis C.K. and actor Kevin Spacey, have begun making public appearances again. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a leading contender to be the next mayor of New York City, and jurors on their lunch breaks might have seen his campaign posters around lower Manhattan. Cuomo resigned office in 2021 after an investigation found he sexually harassed 11 women. Donald Trump, who was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil trial in 2023, was reelected president the…