Content Warning: This article contains discussion of alleged rape charges, that some readers may find distressing.
Harvey Weinstein’s Manhattan rape retrial ended in a mistrial for the second time on Friday, 15 May, after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charge that he raped Jessica Mann.
Outside of the courthouse, defence counsel Marc Agnifilo told reporters that the hung jury had split 9–3, with nine jurors voting not guilty and three voting guilty.
Mann is a hairstylist and actress who testified that she had a years-long relationship with Weinstein and sexual encounters with him. However, she testified that she had been forced into a 2013 encounter inside a Manhattan hotel room after repeatedly telling Weinstein “‘no’ over and over.”
Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual and pointed to Mann’s continued contact with him afterwards.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe 2017 sexual assault allegations against Weinstein helped turn #MeToo into a global movement, generating widespread attention to sexual violence and harassment, particularly in the workplace. Mann stated that her understanding of the encounter changed after the wave of allegations against Weinstein became public in 2017.
The latest trial was the third time Weinstein was tried for allegedly raping Mann. He was first convicted in New York in 2020, including for third-degree rape of Mann, and sentenced to 23 years, but that conviction was overturned in 2024 after the New York Court of Appeals found he had not received a fair trial.
At a 2025 Manhattan retrial, Weinstein was convicted of sexually abusing Miriam Haley and acquitted of assaulting former model Kaja Sokola, but jurors deadlocked on the third-degree rape charge involving Mann, prompting the retrial that ended Friday.
Mann wrote in a statement, “Today’s decision to declare a mistrial doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told and the violent crimes Harvey Weinstein committed upon me and so many others. I chose to testify in three trials because I am telling the truth.”
Weinstein remains in custody at the Rikers Island jail complex while facing ongoing New York proceedings. He is also serving a separate 16-year California sentence for the rape of a woman identified in court as Jane Doe 1.
The Manhattan jury had been deliberating since Wednesday, 13 May. Proceedings ended early that afternoon after Marc Agnifilo told the court that Weinstein was experiencing chest pains. Judge Curtis Farber dismissed jurors for the day, telling them only that the court was ending early for “unforeseen reasons.”
Weinstein entered the courtroom in a wheelchair on Friday, giving the press what resembled the Queen’s wave. He has used a wheelchair since approximately 2020, amidst longstanding health problems including cancer, heart complications, and back pain.
At 11:30, jurors sent a note indicating that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Farber initially instructed them to continue deliberating, reminding them that any verdict must be unanimous and that they should not surrender honestly held views merely to reach agreement.
The judge urged jurors to resume deliberations with open minds, to consider one another’s views respectfully, and to decide the case only on the evidence and law. The instruction, known as a deadlocked jury or Allen charge, is commonly used in the United States when jurors report that they cannot reach a unanimous verdict.
Judge Farber later declared a mistrial after the jury submitted a note at 1:05, reading, “We cannot come to a unanimous decision. We feel that no one is going to change where they stand.” Weinstein’s face remained expressionless as the judge spoke.
A hearing was set for 25 June to determine whether prosecutors will pursue a fourth trial on the unresolved rape charge.
“We will consider our next steps in consultation with Ms. Mann, and in consideration of Harvey Weinstein’s pending sentencing following last year’s trial conviction for forcibly sexually assaulting Miriam Haley,” the Manhattan District Attorney’s office wrote in a statement. “As always, we will continue to prosecute crimes of sexual violence — no matter who the defendant is — in a survivor-centered manner that uplifts their voices in the pursuit of justice.”
In addition to Marc Agnifilo, Weinstein was represented by attorneys Teny Geragos and Jacob Kaplan, with Bella Irwin serving as a paralegal.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg led the prosecution, alongside Assistant District Attorneys Shannon Lucey, Matthew Colangelo, and Becky Mangold.
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