HARVEY Weinstein claimed that he was “punched hard” and left bleeding on the floor of America’s most notorious jail.
The disgraced Hollywood mogul, who was found guilty of rape and sexual assault by courts in New York and Los Angeles, revealed details about his life “under siege” at Rikers Island.
Weinstein attends a conference to work out details of his upcoming rape retrial at Manhattan Criminal Court on March 4, 2026Credit: Getty
The Rikers Island jail complex is shown in the Bronx boroughCredit: AP
“One time while I was waiting to use the phone, I asked the guy in front of me if he was done,” the 73-year-old sex offender told The Hollywood Reporter .
“He got off and punched me hard in the face. I fell on the floor, bleeding everywhere. I was hurt really badly.
“The cops asked me who had done it, but I couldn’t say. You can’t be a rat. That’s the law of the jungle.”
Weinstein was jailed at the Queens “hellhole” while awaiting a retrial for the third time on charges of raping an actress inside a Midtown hotel.
Bound to his wheelchair amid declining health, the criminal spends most of his day in his cell, without human contact, for up to 23 hours a day.
The only people he speaks with are the guards and the nurses, admitting that it is a “lonely” life.
Fellow inmate “constantly threaten and deride” him, Weinstein says, as he added that he “wouldn’t last long” among the general population.
“It’s too dangerous for me to be around anyone else. Other inmates get to go to the yard. But every time I’m out there, I feel like I’m under siege,” he said.
When asked if he was worried about dying in prison, the criminal admitted that the premise “scares the s***” out of him.
“Cold and heartless,” he added. “It’s incredible to have the life that I had and the things that I did for society and not have the leniency to deal with me in a kinder way. Whatever they think I did bad in my life, I didn’t get the death penalty.
Harvey Weinstein Trial Timeline
October 5, 2017 – An explosive story by New York Times reports Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein reached legal settlements with eight women who accused him of sexual harassment spanning over three decades. The piece sparks an avalanche of sexual assault allegations against him. Weinstein is fired from his own company, his wife leaves him, and the #MeToo movement is born.
October 10, 2017 – The New Yorker magazine releases a story detailing other accusations against Weinstein.
May 25, 2018: Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim, and first-degree criminal sex act for another, later revealed to be marketing executive Lucia Evans. The woman who claims she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 has not been publicly identified. Weinstein is released after appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court and handing over his passport and a $1 million cashier’s check to cover his bail.
May 25, 2018 – Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim and a first-degree criminal sex act for another. He is released after paying $1 million bail.
May 30, 2018 – Weinstein is indicted on the sex crimes charges.
June 5, 2018 – He pleads not guilty to all charges against him.
July 2, 2018 – A Manhattan grand jury charges Weinstein with additional sex crimes, including two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual assault.
October 11, 2018 – Prosecutors drop one of the six charges against Weinstein.
January 6, 2020 – The Los Angeles district attorney charges Weinstein with raping an Italian model in 2013.
February 24, 2020 – Weinstein is found guilty in his Manahttan trial of criminal sexual assault and rape in the third degree. He is sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York.
December 19, 2022 – A jury in Los Angeles convicts him of three of seven counts of sexual assault.
February 23, 2023 – Weinstein is sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape in his Los Angeles trial.
April 25, 2024 – In a bombshell decision, his New York conviction is overturned and a new trial is ordered.
April 15, 2025 – Weinstein’s retrial begins in New York with a new accuser set to take the stand.
The convicted sex pest also revealed he doesn’t speak to his two daughters despite trying to contact them “lots of times.”
“They never respond. Their mother cut me off, too. It’s been radio silence from them ever since the allegations started,” Weinstein said, noting he still believes he can prove his innocence.
The entrance to Rikers Island in QueensCredit: TNS
A cell in an enhanced supervision housing unit on Rikers IslandCredit: AP
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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