Harvey Weinstein Released After Changing Plea to Guilty by Reason of Hormones
NEW YORK — Sexual Assault convict Harvey Weinstein was released from custody Thursday after a court accepted a revised plea of guilty by reason of “too much hormones,” a disposition his lawyers said had been unavailable at the time of his original convictions only because “the science had not caught up to Harvey.”
Weinstein, 74, appeared briefly by video from Bellevue Hospital, where he has been treated this year for heart trouble. He did not specify which hormones. Asked whether they were male, female, or studio-era, counsel said the distinction was “reductive.”
“My client takes responsibility in the modern sense,” said a lawyer reading from a prepared card. “That is, he admits something happened while denying that he, as a hormonal event, was the person happening it.”
The plea agreement vacates remaining New York counts still in dispute, treats prior findings as “hormonally adjacent,” and directs that Weinstein be transferred from a prison ward to a wellness setting of his choosing. California officials said they were “monitoring the New York innovation.”
Prosecutors signed off after receiving a two-page letter from a clinician who had not examined Weinstein but had “reviewed the cultural moment.” The letter concluded that executive-producer cortisol, awards-season estrogen, and “unregulated hotel testosterone” could, in combination, produce conduct that looks like a crime if viewed through a pre-hormonal lens.
A judge asked whether this was an insanity defense. Counsel said no. “Insanity is stigmatizing. Hormones are explanatory.”
The court inquired how far back the explanation ran. Counsel said it ran “from the founding of Miramax through the present, with residual effects.” A follow-up question — whether the hormones had also produced Best Picture winners — was ruled outside the scope of the hearing.
Outside the courthouse, a small group held signs reading “Believe Endocrine Systems” and “It’s Not Him, It’s FSH.” One activist said the release was “complicated,” then called it “necessary,” then asked not to be quoted in that order.
Several of Weinstein’s accusers issued a joint statement saying hormones had not been in the room. Weinstein’s team filed a reply noting that hormones are “in every room” and therefore “cannot be excluded.”
Corrections officials confirmed that Weinstein left with a paper bag, a list of approved specialists, and an order that he not produce films without disclosing his endocrine status in the credits. The order did not define disclosure. A studio lawyer suggested a lower-third: Hormones Were Present.
Asked if other inmates could enter the same plea, a court spokesman said each case would turn on “unique hormonal facts.” Asked what made Weinstein’s unique, the spokesman said, “He asked first.”
Weinstein, in his only additional remark, said he felt “very seen.” He did not say by whom. Counsel said that, too, was hormonal.
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