Bill Cosby's Longtime Rep Reacts to Harvey Weinstein's Overturned Rape Conviction, Urges Public to 'Ease Personal Feelings' About Pair
April 25 2024, Published 1:53 p.m. ET
Bill Cosby's longtime rep who walked him out of prison after his sentence was reversed has plenty of say about Harvey Weinstein's overturned conviction. In an exclusive statement, Andrew Wyatt told RadarOnline.com that the public must look at the "lack of facts" and "ease their personal feelings" against the actor, 86, and the Hollywood movie producer, 72.
As this outlet reported, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein's 2020 conviction on sex crimes against three women in a shocking 4-3 opinion on Thursday, determining the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."
The court also determined that the accusers' testimonies "served no material non-propensity purpose" and "portrayed" Weinstein "in a highly prejudicial light."
Cosby was convicted of sexual assault in 2018 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison. He was released in June 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the ruling, and while the comedian got to walk out of prison a free man, the same can't be said for Weinstein.
In 2022, he was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles and sentenced to 16 years. The attorney who put him away in his LA case said he's "confident" that the disgraced Hollywood bigwig's conviction for that crime "will be upheld."
"The 5th Amendment is an essential tool of our democracy and it’s in place to protect all Citizens of these United Stated, whether rich or poor, from those gatekeepers within the judicial system who misuse their authority, in order to rid Americans of their Due Process," Wyatt told RadarOnline.com on Thursday morning.
He also urged, "The public must ease their personal feelings about Mr. Cosby and Mr. Weinstein and look at the lack of facts, evidence and proof, without trying to 'arm chair' quarterback a person’s Constitutional Rights because that’s an injustice for all American Citizens and a disgrace to our democracy."
Wyatt charged that the "only unfortunate part is that Mr. Weinstein will go through another trial and he can't leave his residency at the prison because of being found guilty in LA."
Wyatt's reaction isn't the only one that's rolled in since Weinstein's NY rape conviction was overturned.
Attorney Lindsay Goldbrum whose client testified about being sexually assaulted by Weinstein during his East Coast criminal trial, told RadarOnline.com the decision "casts a dark shadow" on the bravery of the accusers who stood up against him, sharing she fears this will "deter" future victims from coming forward.
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The Manhattan District Attorney's Office revealed its plan to retry Weinstein if alleged victims are willing to come forward again.
"We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault," a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement to ABC News.