Sickly Weinstein says ‘I’m dying of cancer, I can’t hold on’ as he begs for #MeToo rape retrial to be brought FORWARD
DISGRACED Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has pleaded with a court to move his #MeToo retrial forwards because of his rapidly declining health.
The sickly 72-year-old is soon set to go on trial again on charges alleging he forcibly performed oral sex on an assistant in 2006 as well as the rape of an aspiring actor in 2013.
Weinstein appeared in a frail state as he entered the Lower Manhattan courthouse in a wheelchair today - more than half an hour after the hearing's scheduled time.
The disgraced producer pleaded at a hearing in state court in Manhattan: "Everyday I'm at Rikers Island [prison], it's a mystery to me how I'm still walking.
"I'm holding on because I want justice for myself and I want this to be over with.
"I'm asking and begging you, your honor, to move your trial."
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He then suggested that even a week's head start would be helpful to him.
Weinstein added that at times he finds himself gasping for air and predicted that he would soon be in a hospital again for treatment.
He proceeded to quiz the judge about his trial calendar, including jury selection in another matter that is set to begin Monday.
New York judge Curtis Farber lead the court proceedings and decided on an April 15 start date for the #MeToo retrial after Weinstein's conviction was overturned last year.
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An official start date was still being debated leading up to Judge Farber's confirmation.
In another rare moment of honesty, convicted rapist Weinstein spoke in court as he begged and pleaded with Farber to allow him out of his "hellhole" jail at Rikers Island.
He said: “I’m in a serious emergency situation, I’m begging for you to move your date [forwards].
“I need to get out of this hellhole as quickly as possible.”
Weinstein went back and forth with Farber trying to negotiate an earlier date - even offering to move it to April 7.
Farber rejected his pleas due to a busy court schedule but said he would see how his other planned trials progress.
Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala has argued for weeks that his client's trial should be moved forwards because of the disgraced film icon's declining health.
He argued last week in court: "They know that Mr. Weinstein is dying of cancer and is an innocent man right now in the state of New York.
"Can I try this dying man's case first?"
The New York judge also announced a fresh allegation involving a woman not included in the original case will now be added to the proceedings.
The additional charge, first filed last September, accuses Weinstein of giving consensual oral sex to a different woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2006.
The film mogul and his team originally wanted this extra charge thrown out after arguing Manhattan prosecutors only brought it up after New York's highest court overturned the original 2020 rape conviction.
The uncharged allegation only came about a few days before the initial case started, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.
It was reportedly left out of the initial trial because it required a sensitive investigation due to the lack of physical evidence or eyewitnesses to the alleged assault.
Weinstein has always pleaded not guilty to all allegations and has insisted his sexual encounters were always consensual.
Despite his pleas of innocence, a jury convicted Weinstein on February 24, 2020, of two criminal charges of rape and sexual assault.
He was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Years later, this verdict was overruled by the New York Court of Appeals.
They found Weinstein didn't receive a fair trial as prosecutors called multiple women as witnesses who fired off accusations at Weinstein that had nothing to do with his charges.
The testimonies "destroyed" his past character and were "an abuse of judicial discretion," the judges announced.
Prosecutors revisited the case and secured a new indictment which included the third alleged victim.
Judge Farber ruled to combine the new indictment and the existing charges into one overarching trial.
This latest court hearing is also separate to Weinstein's 2022 Los Angeles conviction for rape and sexual assault.
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.
He was sentenced to 16 years in jail in the globally known case and has been held in the notorious Rikers Island prison ever since.
The LA case, which made Weinstein a convicted sex offender, came nearly three years after his guilty New York verdict.
His legal team have also launched an appeal against the verdict in June, claiming he was not fairly tried.
Weinstein's latest case comes as the infamous Hollywood chief continues to battle with a range of serious health issues.
He has only left his cold new home behind bars on a handful of occasions in the past two years - mainly to visit hospital.
In October, it was announced he has been undergoing treatment in Rikers Island for Chronic myeloid leukemia - a type of cancer of the bone marrow.
A month earlier he was rushed into emergency heart surgery after a significant amount of fluid had built up in his lungs and heart.
The convicted rapist was left "near death" and wheelchair-bound.
Across the past 12 months he has also been hospitalised by Covid-19, bouts of double pneumonia and diabetes.
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Weinstein labelled his time behind bars at Rikers Island as a "medieval situation" in court today.
He warned he "won't be there for April" as he cited his cancer battle.
Harvey Weinstein Trial Timeline
- October 2017: The New York Times reports the film mogul, whose Miramax film company won its first Oscar in 1997 for The English Patient, has reached legal settlements with eight women who accused him of sexual harassment spanning over 30 years. He is fired from his company, his wife leaves him, and the #MeToo movement is born.
- May 2018: Weinstein was arrested on charges of rape and a criminal sex act involving alleged assaults of two women.
- June 2018: He pleads not guilty to both charges and a third charge. One of them is eventually dropped.
- December 2019: Weinstein agrees to a $25 million settlement with a number of women who accused him of wrongdoing.
- January 2020: The Los Angeles County District Attorney announces a criminal indictment against Weinstein.
- That same month, Weinstein's New York trial began.
- February 2020: After five days of deliberation, a jury in New York convicted Weinstein of rape in the third degree and sexual assault in the first degree.
- March 2020: Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years and transferred to maximum security prison.
- October 2022: Weinstein's Los Angeles trial begins.
- December 2022: A jury convicts Weinstein of raping a model in 2013.
- February 2023: Weinstein is sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison.
- April 2024: His New York conviction is overturned by a New York Appeals Court, and a new trial is ordered.
- July 2024: A judge sets Weinstein's retrial for November 12.
- September 2024: Prosecutors announced new charges against Weinstein.
- January 2025: Weinstein appears back in court ahead of a retrial on his 2020 New York case
