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.”
Harvey Weinstein attends his retrial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2025Getty
AFPWeinstein with a book at his retrial on Tuesday[/caption]
AFPWeinstein in court in Manhattan for a preliminary hearing on May 1, 2024[/caption]
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 accuse Weinstein of forcing her into oral sex in 2006.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement
In October 2017, The New York Times published a bombshell article where numerous actresses alleged abuse at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.
Soon after, the actress Alyssa Milano asked women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to share the words “Me Too” on social media.
The request quickly became a movement – with actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uma Thurman all sharing their harrowing stories.
It was later revealed that “Me Too” was first used by activity Tarana Burke in 2006 to describe her sexual assault.
The media firestorm led to many media executives losing their positions, alongside backlash over whether the accusations were being properly investigated.
Weinstein remained at the center of it all and was one of the few who was hit with criminal charges.
A top executive who produced films like Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and The Lord of the Rings, activist felt he was the perfect representation of how power and influence could be used for evil.
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.”
It’s unclear if Weinstein 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.
Since his 2020 conviction, Weinstein has also been separately convicted of raping an Italian model in Los Angeles in 2013.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in that case but is appealing.
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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