Harvey Weinstein claims he’s ‘under siege’ as he complains about life in prison
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images
Harvey Weinstein has spoken about his life behind bars, as he serves a jail sentence at Rikers Island prison in New York.
The disgraced Hollywood film producer claimed in a new interview that he's constantly 'under siege' from other inmates and that he was punched in the face for asking if one fellow prisoner had finished on the phone.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview about his life inside, Weinstein - who is awaiting a retrial for the third time - spoke about the hardships he had been facing since he was jailed in 2020.
“One time, while I was waiting to use the phone, I asked the guy in front of me if he was done. He got off and punched me hard in the face,” he said.
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“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.
“I spend almost all of it in my cell. Sometimes I’ll go out in the wheelchair just to get some air, but that’s only half an hour. Mostly I’m in my cell 23 hours a day. I don’t have any human contact other than with the guards.
“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.”
Weinstein is currently in a wheelchair following health issues including myeloid leukemia and spinal stenosis.
He admitted he was 'scared' of dying in prison, adding: “Cold and heartless. 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."
He also added that he no longer speaks to two of his daughters despite his efforts to resume contact.
“They never respond. Their mother cut me off, too. It’s been radio silence from them ever since the allegations started,” he said.
“I speak to three of my children every day: my oldest daughter, who is 30 now, and my 12-year-old, and my 15-year-old. My other two children haven’t talked to me for six years.
“I also speak to my lawyers and to a few friends. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane.”
Weinstein was arrested in May 2018 and charged with rape and other offences after over 80 women came forward to accuse him of non-consensual acts over the course of his film career.
Despite denying any accusations of ‘non-consensual sex’, he was sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment in March 2020.
Weinstein was also sentenced to an additional 16 years after being convicted in Los Angeles of two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.
However, in 2024, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein's 2020 conviction on the basis that he did not receive a fair trial.
In June last year, a New York jury found Weinstein guilty on one count of a criminal sexual act, as well as not guilty on another count.
The jury could not reach a verdict on the rape charge, relating to actress Jessica Mann. The charge ended in a mistrial and a retrial is expected to begin on April 14 this year.
Weinstein will be represented by Jacob Kaplan, the attorney currently representing Luigi Mangione.