FACING TRIAL
‘Rapidly deteriorating’ Harvey Weinstein faces sex crimes retrial after complaining of swollen tongue & 25lb weight gain
He has gained 19 pounds in the last month alone
HARVEY Weinstein has been wheeled into court as his sex crimes retrial begins with a new witness accusing him of rape.
The disgraced movie mogul is returning to court five years after he was convicted of rape and thrown in jail, where his health has reportedly been "rapidly detorioriating."
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Weinstein, 73, faces a new trial covering the same allegations that he was found guilty of - plus more new allegations - after his 2020 conviction was overturned on appeal in a bombshell move last year.
He arrived in a wheelchair, wearing a blue tie and carrying a book, at the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday as jury selection begins for the redo, where a new unnamed witness is set to confront Weinstein.
The former Hollywood kingpin was previously sentenced to 23 years behind bars after more than 80 women accused him of sexual misconduct.
After just five years in New York City's notorious Rikers Island prison, Weinstein is reportedly suffering from failing health as he rapidly gains weight and has severe tongue inflammation, according to TMZ.
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Just days before the retrial began, Weinstein's representative, Juda Engelmayer, told TMZ that the former studio head's health is "rapidly deteriorating in custody."
Engelmayer said Weinstein gained 25 pounds, 19 in the last month alone, after he was transferred back to prison after a brief stint in the hospital earlier this year.
He returned to Bellevue Hospital last week to treat a tongue infection, which has made it difficult to swallow, prompting concerns he might choke to death.
Weinstein has diabetes and was diagnosed last year with an uncommon form of bone marrow cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia.
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Engelmayer said her client's medical crisis is furthered by "ongoing issues with missed and delayed medications, chest palpitations that go unaddressed, and a lack of support for his serious mobility issues."
Despite his frail condition, as seen in court in September, Weinstein's new trial is set to last more than a month as three accusers in total are set to confront him in court.
Frail Harvey Weinstein wheeled into court days after hospitalization as Hollywood monster could face retrial for rape
Jessica Mann and Mimi Haley, two of Weinstein's accusers from the first trial, will take the stand again to share their testimonies of sexual assault.
Prosecutors will once again allege that Weinstein used his position of power to prey on vulnerable women in the film industry by promising to advance their careers.
New York's appeals court reversed his conviction of rape in the third degree and criminal sexual assault in April 2024, ruling the trial judge made an "egregious" move to let three extra women testify.
In a 4-3 decision, the court said then-Judge James Burke was unfair in letting the women take the stand because Weinstein was not charged with their allegations.
Harvey Weinstein Trial Timeline
October 5, 2017 - An explosive story by New York Times reports Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein reached legal settlements with eight women who accused him of sexual harassment spanning over three decades. The piece sparks an avalanche of sexual assault allegations against him. Weinstein is fired from his own company, his wife leaves him, and the #MeToo movement is born.
October 10, 2017 - The New Yorker magazine releases a story detailing other accusations against Weinstein.
May 25, 2018: Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim, and first-degree criminal sex act for another, later revealed to be marketing executive Lucia Evans. The woman who claims she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 has not been publicly identified. Weinstein is released after appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court and handing over his passport and a $1 million cashier's check to cover his bail.
May 25, 2018 - Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim and a first-degree criminal sex act for another. He is released after paying $1 million bail.
May 30, 2018 - Weinstein is indicted on the sex crimes charges.
June 5, 2018 - He pleads not guilty to all charges against him.
July 2, 2018 - A Manhattan grand jury charges Weinstein with additional sex crimes, including two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual assault.
October 11, 2018 - Prosecutors drop one of the six charges against Weinstein.
January 6, 2020 - The Los Angeles district attorney charges Weinstein with raping an Italian model in 2013.
February 24, 2020 - Weinstein is found guilty in his Manahttan trial of criminal sexual assault and rape in the third degree. He is sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York.
December 19, 2022 - A jury in Los Angeles convicts him of three of seven counts of sexual assault.
February 23, 2023 - Weinstein is sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape in his Los Angeles trial.
April 25, 2024 - In a bombshell decision, his New York conviction is overturned and a new trial is ordered.
April 15, 2025 - Weinstein's retrial begins in New York with a new accuser set to take the stand.
Weinstein's attorneys have also insisted that media coverage tainted the first trial.
“Five years ago when you guys were here, there were protests, there were people chanting ‘fry Harvey,’ ‘Harvey’s a rapist,” his lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said last week, according to the New York Post.
“There was #MeToo, Oprah Winfrey, and then, you know, all these people were just so against him.
"The jurors had to be terrified if they would have acquitted him about pushback from their own families and their own communities,” Aidala continued.
“I think that overall has died down. We have bigger things to worry about with stock markets crashing and wars overseas, and I just think that it’s a different environment.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber said last week the trial will be based "on the facts and on the allegations, and nothing else."
I am confident that there will be justice in this case. It is important for women everywhere and for people who are victims of sexual assault everywhere that others pave the way and show their dedication in this fight against sexual assault
Lindsay Goldbrum
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and has denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone.
It's unclear if he will testify at the retrial.
He faces up to 25 years in prison on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, and four years on the third-degree rape charge.
Even if he is acquitted on the retrial charges, Weinstein won't walk free.
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Since his 2020 conviction, Weinstein was also convicted in a separate case in 2022 for raping an Italian model in Los Angeles in 2013.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in that case but is appealing.
Weinstein is being retried on Mann's accusations that he raped the actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
The second charge against him is for forcing Haley, a movie and TV production assistant, to engage in oral sex in 2006.
NEW ACCUSER COMES FORWARD
The new accusation against Weinstein comes from an unnamed actress, who is accusing the former Miramax head of forcing oral sex on her at a hotel in Manhattan in 2006.
The accuser, who did not participate in the original trial, has asked to not be named publicly.
The woman's lawyer, Lindsay Goldbrum, told reporters on Tuesday that her client's testimony has been "crystal clear," according to the Associated Press.
“This was not consensual. This was sexual assault with force," Goldbrum said, adding, "I am confident that there will be justice in this case.
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“It is important for women everywhere and for people who are victims of sexual assault everywhere that others pave the way and show their dedication in this fight against sexual assault.”
Opening statements in the trial are expected to begin next week.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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