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Conservative commentator and podcaster Candace Owens criticized the partial mistrial declared in Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes retrial. On June 12, 2025, Owens took to X to share a screenshot of a Hollywood Reporter article that published an update on the ongoing case, revealing that a mistrial had been declared on one of the charges against the Hollywood producer.
"I reported yesterday, jurors in the Harvey Weinstein case were facing threats. The judge has therefore declared a mistrial on ONE of the charges, but that is nonsense. It should be declared a mistrial altogether," Candace Owens wrote in the caption of her post.
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According to the Hollywood Reporter article mentioned by Candace Owens, Weinstein was facing one count of rape in the third degree and two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree.
However, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, before the jury could reach a verdict on the rape charge, the jurors were sent home at midday amidst rising tensions in the jury room.
Ultimately, the charge of rape in the third degree ended in a mistrial.
As per Merriam-Webster, a mistrial is a trial that has no legal effect on one or more of the charges brought against the defendant because of some serious error or prejudicial misconduct in the proceedings.
This mistrial was declared after the jury foreperson refused to re-enter the deliberations on June 12, 2025, citing threats from fellow jurors, as per the Hollywood Reporter.
In the post mentioned above, Candace Owens interpreted this decision as insufficient, arguing that if threats and tensions rendered one charge void, the same logic should apply to the entire case.
What else do we know about Harvey Weinstein’s rape charge that ended in a mistrial in his ongoing sex crimes retrial
According to an ABC News report dated June 13, 2025, on Thursday, June 12, 2025, a New York judge declared a mistrial on the third-degree rape count in Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes retrial, following a dramatic collapse in jury deliberations.
The charge stemmed from allegations made by aspiring actress Jessica Mann, who said Weinstein assaulted her in 2013.
The mistrial came just one day after the jury convicted Weinstein on a separate count of criminal sexual act involving Mimi Haley and acquitted him on another charge related to Kaja Sokola.
The outcome left only Mann’s accusation unresolved.
However, jury deliberations were thrown into disarray on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, when the jury foreperson sent a note to Judge Curtis Farber stating that he "cannot go back inside with those people".
According to a transcript of a closed-door conversation, the foreperson told the judge that jurors were "attacking" each other and described the situation as hostile.
"I feel afraid inside there. I can’t be inside there," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The foreperson’s anxiety escalated to the point where he claimed he was afraid to reenter the deliberation room, saying fellow jurors had yelled at him in an attempt to force him to change his vote.
When asked on June 12, if he would return to the jury room, the foreperson told the court:
"No, I’m sorry".
Judge Farber then dismissed the entire jury.
As per the aforementioned ABC News report, the remaining jurors expressed disappointment that the deliberations were cut short.
"They all thought they were involved in a normal discourse, and they don’t understand why the foreperson bowed out… I will say they were extremely disappointed that deliberations ended before they reached a verdict," Judge Farber explained.
Harvey Weinstein claims innocence on Candace Owens’ podcast, says he was “wrongfully convicted”
Harvey Weinstein appeared on the May 21, 2025, episode of Candace Owens’ eponymous podcast, marking his first on-camera interview in eight years.
Speaking from behind bars and facing a retrial after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his initial 2020 conviction in 2024, Weinstein used Candace Owens’ platform to assert his innocence and push back against the public narrative surrounding his case.
Weinstein began the interview with Candace Owens by reading a statement in which he acknowledged moral failings in his personal life but denied any criminal wrongdoing.
"I believe women should be heard, but I’m wrongfully convicted. And right now, I’m not convicted—I’m on a retrial. An appeal overturned my conviction. But justice demands a clear, honest look at each case, and I am here for fairness and the truth," Harvey Weinstein stated.
He reiterated this stance throughout the interview with Candace Owens, portraying himself as a man who had made personal mistakes but had been unfairly targeted by the legal system and the media.
He further remarked that he especially regretted the pain caused to the family of the late producer Jill Messick, whose name became entangled in the early days of the #MeToo movement.
Despite these admissions, Weinstein remained firm in denying the criminal charges brought against him, insisting that he did "not commit these crimes".
He swore "before God and the people watching" the Candace show that he was “wrongfully accused” because the legal system had failed to differentiate between “what is immoral and what is illegal.”
Weinstein also opened up about the isolation he had experienced, noting that many of his former associates had distanced themselves because they were “frightened to death”
"They’re frightened that they’re going to be canceled, that they’re not going to be able to work. I tried to get my people to stand up and even testify in the trial. And nothing," Harvey Weinstein explained.
During the interview, Candace Owens also pressed him on allegations made by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who had publicly stated that Weinstein made a pass at her early in her career and that her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt confronted him.
Harvey Weinstein denied that account in full, calling it a “fabrication", but admitted that he did make a pass. He recounted the interaction as brief and verbal, stating he never touched her.
As per The Hollywood Reporter on June 12, 2025, in the ongoing sex crimes retrial of Harvey Weinstein, prosecutors announced their intent to retry him on the rape charge following the recent mistrial.
A new hearing on the charge has been scheduled for July 2, 2025.
Meanwhile, Candace Owens, who recently gave birth to her fourth child—a boy named Roman Michael Farmer—is taking time off from her eponymous podcast, Candace.
