As if the trial of Harvey Weinstein wasn’t high-profile enough already, it was raised up a notch further earlier this week (January 13), when Gigi Hadid appeared at the New York courtroom as a potential juror on the case.
Since then, however, it’s been announced that Hadid has been dismissed. Though she made it through one round of selections – saying: “I think I’m still able to keep an open mind on the facts” despite having met Weinstein and some of his accusers – she was dropped late this week.
This follows Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, complaining to the court – as part of an 87-page motion – about Hadid’s friendship with Cara Delevingne, who’s previously raised allegations against the producer.
Hadid was ultimately dismissed along with 62 other potential jurors. The huge pool of potential jurors for the case started at 608 people.
Many have also effectively recused themselves, claiming they can’t make an impartial judgement on the trial (which, with such a high-profile case involving recognisable figures from across the film industry, seems fair enough).
Nevertheless, the jury selection is now complete, Variety reports, with the final panel made up of seven men and five women, with three alternates. Opening statements are scheduled for next Wednesday.
Weinstein continues to deny all charges (including new charges in Los Angeles), claiming to have been a champion of women in Hollywood. If convicted, he faces a life sentence in New York, plus 28 years in LA.
Read Dazed’s interview with the journalists that exposed Weinstein’s crimes and kickstarted the #MeToo movement, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, here.