Ashley Judd Reacts to Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 Rape Conviction Being Overturned

Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction in New York has been overturned.

On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in a 4-3 ruling.

In docs obtained by "Extra," the court argued that the judge who handled the case in 2020 “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”

In a statement, Judge Jenny Rivera said, “Defendant was convicted by a jury for various sexual crimes against three named complainants and, on appeal, claims that he was judged, not on the conduct for which he was indicted, but on irrelevant, prejudicial, and untested allegations of prior bad acts.”

“We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” Judge Rivera added. “The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light. The synergistic effect of these errors was not harmless.”

After the news broke, Weinstein’s spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told Deadline, “We’re cautiously excited. He still has a long road ahead of him because of the Los Angeles case. We are studying the ramifications of the appeal right now.”

Before the ruling, Weinstein was serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after he had been found guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. He was convicted on two of the five charges against him, but found not guilty on two counts of predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree.

Following Thursday’s ruling, New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor, who broke the story about Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment and abuse in 2017, shared on the New York Times website, “I just telephoned Ashley Judd, the first actress to come forward with allegations against Weinstein, and shared the news from the court. ‘That’s really hard for the survivors,’ she said. ‘We still live in our truth. And we know what happened.’”

In a press conference, Ashley said, "I stand in solidarity and sisterhood of all survivors of sexual violence."

Ashley revealed she learned of the overturned conviction while prepping for a camping trip.

"This is what it's like to be a woman in America, living with male entitlement to our bodies," Ashley commented.

Judd recalled a "breakfast appointment" with Weinstein when she was an up-and-coming actress filming "Kiss the Girls."

Ashley called herself "naive" for thinking that Weinstein was waiting in the hotel restaurant. Instead, she was sent up to his hotel room for the meeting.

Judd claimed that she was greeted by Weinstein, who was wearing a robe, and that he asked to give her a massage and she had to wait for him to shower. She noted, "I was lucky I got out of that hotel room."

"I told anyone who would listen," Ashley emphasized. "When survivors tell their stories, they are exercising a powerful form of leadership that sparks others to join and share action that catalyzes change."

Of the news, Judd said, "This today is an act of institutional betrayal, and our institutions betray survivors of male sexual violence, and we need to work within and without the systems."

Despite everything, Ashley encourages people to have "institutional courage."

"We need to be able to contribute without fear of violence, of our voices being muted, our contributions being diminished, without fear of retaliation," Ashley emphasized, pushing for a safe work environment for women and people who are subject to sexual violence and harassment.

Ashley said she is fighting for "freedom from male entitlement to our bodies."

Weinstein has vehemently denied Judd's claims in the past.

Weinstein is not a free man, in spite of the shocking reversal.

In 2022, Weinstein was convicted on three charges of rape and sexual assault in L.A, and was acquitted of one other charge. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on three other counts.