TRUE CRIMEHarvey Weinstein 'Begs' Judge to Move His Trial Date Due to 'Serious Emergency Situation': 'I Need to Get Out of This H---hole'
Harvey Weinstein is set to be retried on sexual assault charges.
Harvey Weinstein asked a judge to change the date of his upcoming #MeToo retrial set to begin on April 15.
On Wednesday, January 29, the disgraced filmmaker — who was charged with committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree from an alleged incident from 2006 — told Judge Curtis J. Farber he was in a "serious emergency situation" and was "begging" for him to move the date up.
Harvey Weinstein co-founded Miramax and The Weinstein Company.
"I need to get out of this h---hole as quickly as possible," he said, calling conditions he was facing in the Rikers island prison a "medieval situation" that could land him back in the hospital "any day now."
"I won’t be there for April," he insisted. "There are so many people suffering at Rikers Island. So many of the people I am with in prison are going through similar problems. They don’t have the same mouthpiece I have. It remains a stain on this city."
Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape in 2022 and received a 16-year sentence.
Weinstein claimed he didn't know "how much longer I can hold on" between all of his health issues, but said he's "holding on because I want justice for myself and I want this to be over with."
“Everyday I’m at Rikers Island, it’s a mystery to me how I’m still walking," he added.
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Harvey Weinstein was diagnosed with cancer while behind bars.
Weinstein has been battling a number of serious health problems throughout his incarceration.
The 72-year-old was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last year. A month before his diagnosis was announced, the convicted s-- offender was rushed to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery. In July 2024, he was also hospitalized due to having double pneumonia and Covid-19.
Harvey Weinstein wants his retrial date moved up.
Earlier this month, Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told a judge, "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?"
As OK! previously reported, the film producer is being retried on charges that he raped an aspiring actor in 2013 and that he forced oral s-- on a production assistant in 2006. He's denied all allegations.
His original 2020 conviction was overturned because the judge was found to have allowed improper testimony.
However, Weinstein was separately convicted of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault in 2022. He received a 16-year prison sentence.
