NEW YORK CITY — Harvey Weinstein pleaded with a judge on Wednesday to expedite his #MeToo retrial, saying, “I don’t know how much longer I can hold on” as he battles cancer, heart problems, and the harsh conditions of New York’s Rikers Island jail.
Judge Curtis Farber scheduled the retrial for April 15, prompting Weinstein, 72, to request an earlier start, even suggesting the judge swap his schedule with another trial.
“Every day at Rikers is a mystery to me—I don’t know how I’m still walking,” Weinstein said in court. “I’m holding on because I want justice and I want this to be over.”
Weinstein, who arrived in a wheelchair, described his deteriorating health, including chronic myeloid leukemia, heart disease, and diabetes. He claimed jail staff gave him the wrong medication that morning and delayed his transport to court.
He insisted his trial should be moved up, saying, “I am in a serious emergency situation.”
A New Charge Amid Legal Wrangling
Weinstein’s request came as Judge Farber upheld an additional charge based on a woman’s allegation that was not included in the original case. His defense team argued that the charge, filed last September, was an unfair attempt to bolster the prosecution’s case after his 2020 conviction was overturned.
Scheduling the retrial has been complicated by other major court cases. Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, is also representing Steve Bannon in a separate fraud trial beginning March 4, while Judge Farber has a murder trial scheduled in March.
Aidala had previously urged prosecutors to prioritize Weinstein’s trial “in the interest of humanity,” citing his client’s declining health.
Weinstein, who co-founded Miramax and The Weinstein Company, was one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures before becoming the face of the #MeToo movement in 2017. He maintains that all sexual encounters were consensual.
His 2020 conviction was overturned after New York’s Court of Appeals ruled that the original trial judge unfairly allowed testimony from women whose allegations were not part of the case. However, Weinstein remains imprisoned after a separate conviction in Los Angeles in 2022, for which he was sentenced to 16 years.
He is currently held at Rikers Island while awaiting his retrial.
