Harvey Weinstein to Remain at Bellevue Hospital for Now

Harvey Weinstein will continue to remain at Bellevue Hospital for now as his trial proceeds. A civil court judge postponed making a more permanent decision on the stay Thursday.

Weinstein is being retried on a criminal sexual charge and a rape charge related to respective claims from Haley, a former production assistant on Project Runway who alleges he forced oral sex on her at his TriBeCa apartment in 2006, and from aspiring actress Jessica Mann, who alleges she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel.

Weinstein is being newly charged with a criminal sexual charge related to claims from former model and actress Kaja Sokola, who alleges he forced oral sex on her in 2006. 

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the new trial.

His health has been an underlying issue leading up the trial, but it will not be discussed in front of the jurors. Weinstein’s lawyers filed an emergency petition April 15 seeking to transfer Weinstein to Bellevue Hospital from Rikers, as they said he was suffering from several conditions, including chronic myeloid leukemia, diabetes mellitus and “extensive” coronary artery disease. He has been housed at Bellevue for the past several days and has appeared alert in court the past two days and has been conferring with his lawyers at the table. 

Thursday marked the first full day of Weinstein’s trial, after opening statements were delivered Wednesday, with prosecutors laying out the claims from the three women at the center of the case, and describing it as an abuse of power by Weinstein, and with Weinstein’s attorneys calling the interactions “mutually beneficial relationships.” 

The first witness Thursday was Elizabeth Entin, a podcast host and author who was friends and roommates with Miriam Haley in 2006, when Haley was working on the Weinstein-produced Project Runway. Entin testified that Haley had told her in July 2006 that Weinstein “forcibly put his mouth on her vagina without her consent,” and that Entin had said that “sounds like rape” and advised her to call a lawyer. 

Entin testified at the 2020 trial as well and when questioned on cross examination about the claim that she had glared at Weinstein at that trial, she affirmed she had because “he raped my friend.” 

“It’s a very, very rare opportunity for the average person to get a chance to face a rapist,” Entin said. “I found it very satisfying.” 

Christine Pressman, a former actress and model and friend to Haley, also testified that Haley had told her about the alleged incident while the two were guests at Lorne Michaels’ East Hampton home due to their shared connection to producer Michael White. 

“I said ‘Harvey Weinstein is the king of New York. He’s extremely powerful. You are not. You’re here on a tourist visa. Just let it go,’” said Pressman, who then began crying on the stand.  

Entin was forceful Thursday as she was asked to identify Weinstein in the courtroom and as she was cross-examined by the defense team lawyer Jennfier Bonjean, who repeatedly pointed to the publicity she had garnered after the last trial amid a flurry of sustained objections from prosecutors. The defense team and prosecutors traded heated objections throughout the day. 

The day began with prosecutors bringing out out a Getty Images specialist to identify Weinstein in photos with a number of prominent figures including Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and the Queen of England, as well as with a number of celebrities, including with Gwyneth Paltrow after she won her Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, which Weinstein produced. 

The first witness, called Wednesday, was Stefan Sterns, former assistant with the Weinstein Company, who testified that he had dropped off Weinstein at the Mercer Hotel lobby in New York to meet Haley. 

The trial is expected to continue Tuesday, and is expected to last four to six weeks.