Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge as he’s seen for first time since open heart surgery

Former movie mogul was rushed from Riker’s Island to a Manhattan hospital earlier this month

Harvey Weinstein appears in court on September 18. The former Hollywood mogul pleaded not guilty to an additional sex crime charge (REUTERS)

Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a new sex crime charge in his first court appearance since undergoing emergency heart surgery.

The 72-year-old former Hollywood mogul was rushed from Rikers Island to Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital on September 8. He underwent heart surgery after his doctors discovered “a massive amount of fluid in his lungs.” Weinstein arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday in a wheelchair.

Weinstein is now charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel on one occasion between April 29, 2006, and May 6, 2006, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“Thanks to this survivor who bravely came forward, Harvey Weinstein now stands indicted for an additional alleged violent sexual assault,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

This new charge comes five months after New York’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction for raping Jessica Mann and Mimi Haley.

Weinstein appears in court on Wednesday with his legal team. His 2020 rape conviction in New York was overturned in April, and his retrial is slated to begin in November (Getty Images)

The court ruled that the original judge made “egregious errors” in the trial by allowing prosecutors to call witnesses whose allegations were not related to the charges at hand. Those witnesses included actress and model Tarale Wulff, who said Weinstein raped her in 2005 and actress and producer Dawn Dunning who said Weinstein put his hand up her skirt in 2004.

However, Weinstein remains convicted of rape and sexual assault in California, where his team is also appealing the verdict.

His New York retrial is tentatively set to begin in November.

More than 80 women accused Weinstein of abuse ranging from groping to rape in 2017. The former Hollywood executive denied the claims. These revelations launched the #MeToo movement as women from around the world came forward to talk about surviving sexual harassment and assault.

When his New York conviction was overturned earlier this year, sexual assault survivors and their allies spoke out.

Ashley Judd, the first Hollywood actor to come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Weinstein, hit back at the court’s decision.

“This is what it’s like to be a woman in America, living with male entitlement to our bodies,” she said in April.

Ashley Judd came out with allegations of sexual harassment against Weinstein and condemned the decision by New York’s highest court to overturn his conviction (Getty Images)

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Haley, also condemned the decision.

“Although victims have lost this battle they have not lost the war,” Allred said in April. “We will continue to fight for justice for victims both in criminal and civil cases until there is a fair trial not just for the accused but also for those who allege that they are victims of sexual predators.”

At the height of his career, Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most powerful and well-connected men. He produced a string of award-winning films, including Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and Gangs of New York.

The Independent has contacted Weinstein’s attorney Arthur Aidala for comment.