A New York judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the rape retrial of former Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein, after a Manhattan jury deadlocked for the second consecutive time over allegations that he raped actor and hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013. The jury, majority male, spent three days in deliberations before sending a note to Judge Curtis Farber saying that "no one is going to change where they stand." Nine of the twelve jurors were leaning toward acquittal, according to Weinstein's legal team. Weinstein, 74, showed no visible reaction as court officers wheeled him out of the courtroom.

The case has now gone to trial three times. Weinstein was originally convicted of raping Mann in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison, but New York's highest court overturned that verdict in 2024 due to mishandling of witness testimony. A 2025 retrial also ended in a hung jury on the Mann charge, though that jury did convict Weinstein on a separate charge of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley. Weinstein remains incarcerated and is separately serving a 16-year sentence in California for the rape of a European actress. He is appealing both his California conviction and the Haley conviction.

Mann, now 40, testified for the third time in this case, recounting how she met Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013 while pursuing an acting career. She described how his professional interest — he praised her looks, bought her acting books and offered career guidance — initially seemed like, in her words, a "miracle." She told jurors that when Weinstein appeared early for a planned breakfast at her Manhattan hotel and obtained a room, she accompanied him to talk but made clear she did not want sex. "I said 'no,' over and over, and I tried to leave," she testified. Weinstein's lawyers argued the relationship was consensual and that Mann continued to seek his support and company for years afterward, pointing to warm emails exchanged well after the alleged assault.

Juror Josh Hadar told reporters after the mistrial that he and eight others favoured acquittal, citing concerns about Mann's credibility — specifically that she recalled events in great detail when testifying for the prosecution but was less precise under cross-examination. Fellow juror Sarae Perez said the reasonable-doubt standard weighed heavily on her. Mann responded in a statement that the outcome "doesn't in any way detract from the truth I told," adding that "the power of predators remains too great."

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he was "disappointed" but respected the jury's process, and has scheduled a hearing for 24 June to decide whether to pursue a fourth trial. Weinstein's camp called for prosecutors to drop the case, arguing that repeated juries reaching no unanimity demonstrates significant reasonable doubt. The allegations against Weinstein, first exposed in landmark investigations by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017, helped ignite the global #MeToo movement and drew more than 80 complainants. The unresolved New York rape charge means that chapter of the case remains open — and potentially headed to court once more.