Disgraced Hollywood sex offender Harvey Weinstein celebrated his 74th birthday Thursday by being wheeled into a Manhattan courthouse for a brief hearing ahead of his third New York rape trial.
The former Miramax boss won’t be unwrapping any gifts or blowing out candles, however, as he continues to rot on Rikers Island — but he remains hopeful of beating the sex rap, his rep, Juda Engelmayer, said.
“No presents other than the promise of a vigorous defense, looked at through a new and different set of eyes than previously,” Engelmayer said.
Weinstein — whom recently hired the lawyers of Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs — sat in court as Manhattan prosecutors and his attorneys continued to iron out details ahead of his latest trial next month.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Curtis Farber had said in February that the trial was set to begin on April 14 with jury selection — but the judge said Thursday that scheduling issues could cause delays.
Accuser Jessica Mann has signaled that she would testify again about how Weinstein allegedly raped her in 2013 at the DoubleTree hotel.
Weinstein was convicted of raping Mann at his first trial in 2020 and forcing oral sex on former Project Runaway production Assistant Mimi Haley — before the verdict verdict was overturned in a bombshell ruling from New York’s highest appeals court.
At last year’s retrial, Weinstein was convicted again on the Haley charge — but the jury could not agree on the Mann rep.
Weinstein brazenly claimed that his accusers “wanted to be victims” in a sit-down interview with the Hollywood Reporter — in which he also said former friend Gwyneth Paltrow “stabbed” him in the back with her sexual harassment claims.
The perpetual perv is due back in court on March 25.
