UltraViolet Reacts to Sentencing of Harvey Weinstein

For Immediate Release: September 23, 2026
Contact: media@fwdshift.com

The sentence, which reaffirms Weinstein’s status as a sexual predator, comes thanks to Miriam Haley, Kaja Sokola, Jessica Mann and all survivors who came forward to demand justice.

New York City, NY—UltraViolet, a leading national women-led gender-justice organization responsible for numerous impactful victories against sexual predators like R Kelly and Bill O’Reilly, released the following statement after disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced by a New York judge to fifteen years in prison after being reconvicted for felony sexual assault:

“Harvey Weinstein, like so many powerful abusers, thought the system would enable and protect him forever. That era is over,” said Elisa Batista, Campaign Director at UltraViolet. “This victory belongs to courageous survivors like Miriam Haley, Kaja Sokola, and Jessica Mann who came forward at great personal risk to tell their stories, as well as those abused by Weinstein who were unable to.”

In a staggering act of injustice, Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned in 2024. His retrial, carried out by a Manhattan court, threatened to become one of the greatest stains on our criminal justice in modern history, potentially erasing the bravery and tireless sacrifice by survivors fighting for justice.

“Thankfully, justice was delivered. But our work doesn’t end here. Across the country, it’s still the case that a majority of survivors of sexual abuse are often not served by our courts,” said Batista. “We will continue to stand with survivors and fight the systems that enable and protect abusers—whether in Hollywood, the workplace, the White House, or anywhere else.”

Since day one, UltraViolet has been the leading voice in the accountability movement for powerful abusers. Former UltraViolet Executive Director Shaunna Thomas served as a key whistleblower in the investigations into Weinstein for sex crimes—a bold call for justice which earned the organization a mention in the 2022 film She Said. UltraViolet is also responsible for victories against sexual predators like R. Kelly and Bill O’Reilly.

Through a coordinated series of petitions and accountability campaigns, UltraViolet Education Fun and UltraViolet Action have called for transparency and demanded accountability for other prominent abusers like Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as well as the figures and institutions who helped enable their sexual abuse network. The organization recently launched a series of petitions to bring accountability to Larry Summers, who has stepped down from his roles at Harvard University and OpenAI following massive public pressure, including from UltraViolet community members, as well as Epstein enablers Alan Dershowitz and Deepak Chopra and Casey Wasserman, who sold his namesake talent agency after major blowback for his association with Maxwell. Recently, UltraViolet also successfully called on CBS to fire Dr. Peter Attia after revelations of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced and celebrated his resignation as a victory for survivors and accountability.

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UltraViolet Education Fund is a women-led gender justice 501c3 organization, with an online community of more than 1 million members nationwide. We combine organizing, technology, creative campaigning, and people power to win real-world changes for women and gender expansive people.