DISGRACED movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been seen for the first time since his cancer diagnosis was made public.
The convicted sex offender’s health has declined as he faces retrial over the shock overturning of his pivotal Me Too rape conviction.
Weinstein, 72, was wheeled into the courtroom holding the 2016 fiction novel Conclave by British author Robert, which inspired an incoming film of the same name.
The novel follows the Catholic church choosing a new Pope after the previous leader dies.
The ex-producer’s collar and tie were askew as he and his team heard the prosecution’s arguments about whether to include a new charge in his retrial.
Weinstein was previously found guilty of forcibly performing oral sex on a film production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actor in 2013.
However, these charges were overturned after the New York Court of Appeals determined the court allowed women not involved in the case to spew unrelated allegations for the jury.
Now, prosecutors are retrying him but want to include a new charge after alleging that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on a third woman in a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the judge spared Weinstein from sitting through two trials and tacked on the new charge.
Weinstein has maintained his innocence throughout the web of lawsuits and trials he’s faced since the dawn of the Me Too movement in 2017.
In recent months, the mega-producer’s health has become a topic of conversation from the defense as he’s been seen using a walker or wheelchair to attend hearings.
Weinstein, who is still serving time for another rape conviction in Los Angeles, has been moving back and forth from Rikers Island Prison in New York to nearby Bellevue Hospital for ongoing issues.
In early September, he was raced from the prison to get emergency heart surgery, but his lawyers said he was stable after getting the procedure.
And in July, he had to get emergency lung treatments after he was diagnosed with Covid-19.
Most recently, Weinstein was diagnosed with leukemia, which is a form of bone marrow cancer.
How Harvey 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.
Earlier this week, his team slammed speculation surrounding his health, saying his diagnosis shouldn’t be of public interest.
“It is both troubling and unacceptable that such private and confidential health matters have become a subject of public discourse,” Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein’s prison consultant, told CNN.
“Out of respect for Mr Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment,” he said.
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.
- February 2020: He is sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York for the charges brought against him in 2018.
- December 2022: A jury in Los Angeles convicts him of raping a model.
- February 2023: He receives a 16-year prison term, which runs alongside his New York sentence.
- April 2024: His New York conviction is overturned, and a new trial is ordered.
- September 2024: Weinstein undergoes treatment after contracting Covid and pneumonia.
- September 2024: Weinstein hit with fresh sex charge.
- November, 12, 2024: The proposed date for Weinstein’s rape retrial.
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