Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial was brought to a halt on Wednesday after the former Hollywood film producer began to experience pains in his chest while in court
Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial was halted after he suffered from chest pains. Jurors had been deliberating in the former Hollywood film producer’s rape retrial on Wednesday when he began to feel unwell, leading the judge to end the session.
Weinstein, 74, has a number of health problems and uses a wheelchair. He has been in prison since 2020. The ex-producer wasn’t in the courtroom, but rather was waiting elsewhere in the courthouse, when defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said court officers had told him that Weinstein was having chest pains.
Jurors had deliberated for less than 4 hours and had just sent a note asking to rehear part of accuser Jessica Mann’s testimony and to review a lengthy prosecution timeline of emails and other evidence. Mann had previously waived her right to anonymity.
Judge Curtis Farber sent them home about an hour earlier than normal, telling them only that there were “unforeseen reasons” for the change. Prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers also left the courtroom so jurors would be less likely to speculate about Weinstein’s absence.
“He wants to be here, but he’s having chest pains,” Agnifilo told the judge before ducking out of the courtroom. Mann, 40, has testified that the two had a consensual relationship, but that Weinstein subjected her to unwanted sex in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013 after she repeatedly said no.
Lawyers for Weinstein have maintained that the encounter was consensual, and they have emphasised that Mann continued seeing Weinstein afterwards and expressing warmth toward him. Mann has said she was mired in complicated feelings about him, herself and what had happened and that she was “normalising everything.”
Her viewpoint changed in 2017, when a series of sexual misconduct allegations against the Oscar-winning Weinstein propelled the #MeToo campaign to hold people — especially powerful men — accountable for sexual misbehaviour. Weinstein has said he “acted wrongly” but never assaulted anyone.
Some of those accusations later generated criminal convictions against Weinstein in New York and California. An appeals court overturned his 2020 New York conviction on charges that involved Mann and another accuser.
At a retrial last year, jurors failed to reach a verdict on Mann’s portion of the case, leading to a second retrial this year. He is charged with one count of rape in the third degree. The current jury heard nearly three weeks of testimony, five days of it from Mann. Weinstein decided not to testify. Weinstein has denied sexually assaulting or raping anybody.
In recent years, Weinstein has been battling ill health, first undergoing emergency heart surgery at Bellevue Hospital and was reportedly left in a critical condition. In October 2024, Weinstein was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia.
The National Cancer Institute describes his condition as a “type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes a large number of abnormal blood cells.” Craig Rothfeld, Harvey’s legal healthcare representative, stated at the time: “Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment.”
If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
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