NEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein`s retrial on rape and sexual assault charges got underway on Wednesday, as aprosecutorand a defence lawyer offered starkly contrasting explanations for the disgraced movie mogul`s encounters with women who hoped to make it big in Hollywood.

ProsecutorShannonLucey told jurors in a New York state court in Manhattan that Weinstein exploited his status as a Hollywood gatekeeper and power broker to prey upon and sexually abuse women, then assured their silence by holding their careers hostage.

`Harvey Weinstein had enormous control over those working in TV and film because he decided who wasin and who was out,` Lucey said in her opening statement. `He had all the power.

They had none.

Prosecutors have portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who promised career advancement in Hollywood to women, only to then coax them into hotel rooms and private apartments where he overpowered and attacked them.

Weinstein` lawyer Arthur Aidala rejected that characterisation, saying the Oscarwinning producer had `mutually beneficial` relationships with his accusers, who ended up with auditions and other show business opportunities.

`They realised very quickly: Harvey Weinstein, he`s got the key to that roomwhere they all want to go, Aidala said in his opening statement, referring to career advancement.

Weinstein, 73, dressed in a dark suit and navy tie, listened after being brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair.

He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act and one count of third-degree rape, and could face decades in prison if convicted.

Attorney Alvin Bragg was in attendance as the retrial began.

Weinstein is being retried one year after New York`s highest court overturned his 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction and 23-year prison sentence, citing errors by the trial judge.-Reuters