Body language expert Tonya Reiman reacts to Harvey Weinstein’s day in court.
New York (CBS Local) – Harvey Weinstein finally had his day in court.
Seven months after multiple reports revealed allegations of rape, sexual assault and harassment against the former movie producer, Weinstein turned himself in to the New York Police Department early Friday morning.
Photographs and videos of the 66-year-old Hollywood heavyweight appear to show him smiling at times as he was being led into the precinct. He showed even more of that countenance as he was escorted away in handcuffs when leaving the police department. Body language expert Tonya Reiman believes this was extremely revealing of Weinstein’s personality type.
“This wasn’t a smile to say, ‘Be on my side,’ or ‘Hey, I’m innocent.’ It was bizarre and suggestive that he may feel he is going to get away with this or that I’ve gotten away with this for this long,” she explains.
Reiman, author of several books on the art of body language, including The Power Of Body Language, thought that among the more fascinating moments of the morning was Weinstein’s court hearing.
“One of the most interesting things I saw was that he kept his mouth open. It’s significant because this is a man who is pretty on the ball with how he comes across. To see him standing in court with his mouth slightly ajar was unsettling,” she says. “When you see someone doing that, a lot of the time it’s because they’re not in the moment. That was interesting because he usually tries to come across as strong and arrogant.”
Weinstein was arraigned on rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct charges and released on $1 million bail. He consented to electric monitoring and is banned from traveling outside of New York or Connecticut. The disgruntled movie producer entered into a non-guilty plea and is due back in court in July. Dozens of women have come forward with stories accusing him of sexual misdeeds ranging from harassment to assault.
Reiman’s overall major takeaway from Weinstein today is that his non-guilty plea played a huge factor in his outward body language.
“When the woman in the courtroom said he needed to lure women in, there was a quick look of shock from him. Then he gets angry as his mouth gets tight and his shoulders go up a little bit and the eyes go up,” she says. “There was that moment of disbelief. He looked insecure at certain points and arrogant at other moments with the smile.”
Just last week, actress Asia Aregento spoke about what she says was her experience with Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival.
“In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes,” she said. “I was 21 years old.”
